Saturday, November 5, 2011

POW reading

This was a very interesting read about the nature of currency and exchange in an environment devoid of classical economic regulations. It interested me that in some ways, the cigarette currency is a much better example of a backed currency than a gold standard. However useful you might consider gold to be, cigarettes were obviously more useful, especially in this camp environment. 

1) What is the difference between the BMk and cigarette as a form of currency
2) How does consuming a product affect the worth of another product in a bartering market
3) How does the constant influx of free products effect the market. Does it at all?

I think the importance of reading this is in understanding the point of currency and seeing how easy it is for a currency, even one backed by hard goods, to fail. I think that this also provides an example of a localized economy. There was a limited amount of incoming goods, a limited amount of labor and a limited amount of buyers/sellers. 

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