82,927
edits
Money: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
No-one has a better claim over a unit of money that the one who, [[for the time being]] holds it. | No-one has a better claim over a unit of money that the one who, [[for the time being]] holds it. | ||
[[Cash]] requires your total commitment, or nothing: you can’t futz around with it, you can’t declare a [[trust]] over it<ref>You can declare a trust over an account that holds cash, of course: a subtly, but significantly, different thing.</ref>, [[pledge]] it, or hold it for anyone other than yourself. If you could, this would undermine the practical value of money ''as'' money: a £5 note, to be meaningful, must be a token worth exactly £5. A bank note has no intrinsic value — it’s a scruffy bit of paper. If a bank note’s notional value is £5 but you fear that the person giving it to you may not own it — there is a risk that some random may snatch it from your hands after you have given up your goods in exchange for it, alleging some prior ownership right — ''then it does not have a value of £5 any more''. | [[Cash]] requires your total commitment, or nothing: you can’t futz around with it, you can’t declare a [[trust]] over it<ref>You can declare a [[trust]] over an account that ''holds'' cash, of course: a subtly, but significantly, different thing.</ref>, [[pledge]] it, or hold it for anyone other than yourself. If you could, this would undermine the practical value of money ''as'' money: a £5 note, to be meaningful, must be a token worth exactly £5. A [[bank note]] has no intrinsic value — it’s a scruffy bit of paper. If a bank note’s notional value is £5 but you fear that the person giving it to you may not own it — there is a risk that some random may snatch it from your hands after you have given up your goods in exchange for it, alleging some prior ownership right — ''then it does not have a value of £5 any more''. | ||
===Whoever holds it holds it outright. No exceptions.=== | ===Whoever holds it holds it outright. No exceptions.=== | ||