Comments on: Defining “currency” http://lebleu.org/blog/2011/04/14/defining-currency/ Thoughts on the future of money Wed, 04 Sep 2013 05:52:33 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.42 By: Rosa Browning http://lebleu.org/blog/2011/04/14/defining-currency/comment-page-1/#comment-1207 Sat, 20 Aug 2011 12:27:35 +0000 http://lebleu.org/blog/?p=564#comment-1207 You're not the average blog writer, man. You definitely have something important to contribute to the net. Such a outstanding blog. I will come back again for more.

]]> By: Anthony Di Franco http://lebleu.org/blog/2011/04/14/defining-currency/comment-page-1/#comment-1197 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:39:54 +0000 http://lebleu.org/blog/?p=564#comment-1197 By chance I also touch on some of this in something I've been meaning to write up for a while and have just gotten around to, the story of the strawberry auction in Fontaines-en-Sologne, France:

http://sfbace.org/2011/04/24/f…

]]> By: Anthony Di Franco http://lebleu.org/blog/2011/04/14/defining-currency/comment-page-1/#comment-1196 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:09:41 +0000 http://lebleu.org/blog/?p=564#comment-1196 True, though semiotics is a broad field and it may help to narrow the question to specific types of currency within your broad definition to make progress.

For the common case of trading in fungible goods and services with many potential counterparties it seems to me like market mechanisms and the passage from commodities with mostly universally appreciated value to tokens that represent the commodity is central. In this case the work of emergence of value appreciation is sidestepped since the commodity itself is already valued and one need only convince people that the act of representation is a trustworthy one somehow.

But since in practice fewer things fit very well into this mold than are often assumed to and reputation is one of the notable ones I can see your interest in broadening the discussion.

The research on self-enforcing norms in game theory is also interesting, e.g.
http://ideas.repec.org/p/rwi/r…
http://amira.amplify.com/2010/…

]]> By: fannie Carnes http://lebleu.org/blog/2011/04/14/defining-currency/comment-page-1/#comment-1193 Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:39:57 +0000 http://lebleu.org/blog/?p=564#comment-1193 Interesting post. I'll have to keep it in mind, because its difficult to find such tremendous info also It'll obviously be challenging, so I can use all the help I can get..
Business Loan

]]> By: Guillaume Lebleu http://lebleu.org/blog/2011/04/14/defining-currency/comment-page-1/#comment-1190 Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:52:23 +0000 http://lebleu.org/blog/?p=564#comment-1190 Thank you Anthony. I think the paper does provide answers to the “how does a currency scale” part of the emergence question. But does not answer the question: how do people come up with using a common symbol of value to set balances and credit limits between each other?

]]> By: Anthony Di Franco http://lebleu.org/blog/2011/04/14/defining-currency/comment-page-1/#comment-1189 Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:33:25 +0000 http://lebleu.org/blog/?p=564#comment-1189 Part of the answer to emergence might be here: http://arxiv.org/abs/1007.0515 (Liquidity in Credit Networks: A Little Trust Goes a Long Way, Pranav Dandekar, Ashish Goel, Ramesh Govindan, Ian Post)

]]> By: Guillaume Lebleu http://lebleu.org/blog/2011/04/14/defining-currency/comment-page-1/#comment-1187 Sat, 16 Apr 2011 00:23:52 +0000 http://lebleu.org/blog/?p=564#comment-1187 I used the term “attributable” to distinguish from any symbol, to reflect that it is an expression from someone about something or someone.

I like the simple: “a currency is a commonly accepted symbol of value”. I think what flows differently though isn't value, it's available energy, attention, productive and creative capacity.

“Like” is a currency. RT are a currency. The flows they shape is our limited attention.

There is no limit to what symbols we can use to express value, but there is a limit to expressing all things of values as multiples of one symbol (especially one enforced through violence), and of course a limit to our creative/productive capacity.

]]> By: webisteme http://lebleu.org/blog/2011/04/14/defining-currency/comment-page-1/#comment-1186 Fri, 15 Apr 2011 23:33:43 +0000 http://lebleu.org/blog/?p=564#comment-1186 Hi Guillaume,

I agree with the basic position that a currency as a symbol which has common acceptance within a group of people, in a certain time. Money is one form of currency which is transactable, and therefore serves as a store of value. However, many currencies, like LinkedIn recommendations, are not.

I wonder if the definition shouldn't be refined to include 'symbol of value' and 'changes value flows' there too. I'm not sure we'd want to accept any commonly accepted symbol. As @GregoryJRader pointed out, do we want to accept the spec sheet for an engine as a currency? Or what about traffic lights?

When we include the notion of value, we get a more intuitive definition: a currency is a commonly accepted symbol of value. As a consequence of this, value flows differently. The “Certified Organic” sticker is a symbol of the value of organic production of the object, and its use changes production and consumption. It is a currency in the sense that it facilitates a new current of value… as compared to its absence.

Thanks for the post and continuing the conversation.

]]>