Money is a way to encourage, control, transmit and transfer human efforts. It is agreed that certain amounts of effort will be rewarded with certificates allowing the holder to draw on the efforts of others. When the reward is commensurate with the value of the services, an economy is healthy and can operate with little control. When rewards are skewed to favorites instead of rewarding that which is most beneficial, increasing amounts of force are necessary to compel people to do what those in control need to have done.
As money becomes adulterated, greater amounts of force are necessary to make people accept it in return for their efforts. “I would rather have a silver dime than a paper dollar.”, commonly heard when Carter was President, is another way of saying, “The nation can’t be trusted.” Money is, finally, a nation’s reputation for trust and truth.
