by gampy » Thu 22 Feb 2007, 17:23:41
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('perdition79', 'I') believe in cash, even though I use my bank card frequently. Every time I swipe the card, I wonder: If I'm paid by direct deposit, and I make purchases with a card, does the money really exist?
That is a very good question. One I am interested in as well.
The question also answers itself in a way. Money never really
exists. Money is a state of mind. A convention used to get around having to carry kilos of a precious metal, or barter goods. It only has worth because someone else values it as well. When enough people do not value it, it becomes worthless. I suppose that is the reason currencies fail or inflate. The problem, is that it's not an instantaneous action. It takes a while for that mistrust to work itself through all the layers of the economy. Those layers go quite deep. There is an inertia involved, as well. It takes a lot to get that paradigm shift to move. But once it does...poof!
I suppose the ones and zeros flitting back and forth across the globe serve the same function as a paper "IOU". A medium of exchange.