What do you think of Voltaire quote about paper money?

jseverson

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Quote from: Aveatrex on June 05, 2018, 01:16:14 PM

Voltaire said:

Quote

Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value -zero

What do you think of his says? We concretely see big inflation rates inside many countries but can this really lead to zero value?The biggest inflation rate I saw was in venezuela which resulted a huge crisis I wonder how governments manage this.

It's true. I see a lot of people were so quick to point out the dangers of inflation and how governments control everything, etc., and while I completely agree, I feel like it's being blown out of proportion. Fiat is inflationary by design, after all.

But yeah, as with most other concepts though, the devil is in the details. In this case, you're going to have to take a look at the actual time period covered by the word "eventually". USD, for example, has existed way before any of us were born, and while it has lost a lot of its value since then (keep in mind that this literally took centuries), its value is far from zero, and it's unlikely for it to reach zero in our lifetimes. Healthy economies generally don't need to worry about hyperinflation.

Bitcoin, on the other hand, is deflationary, but like fiat doesn't have an intrinsic value. I would love for Bitcoin to take over the future and would actively root for it, but until that day actually comes, I'd say paper money is generally still safer in most cases. I don't see this changing until the general public starts accepting Bitcoin as an actual currency rather than an investment asset.

kaya11

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Quote from: Aveatrex on June 05, 2018, 01:16:14 PM

Voltaire said:

Quote

Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value -zero

What do you think of his says? We concretely see big inflation rates inside many countries but can this really lead to zero value?The biggest inflation rate I saw was in venezuela which resulted a huge crisis I wonder how governments manage this.

Nothing in this world is permanent and therefore everything will be gone forever. Like we human beings if we die we go somewhere special and all the things we belong in this place will be left behind. The money we are using right now may have still value for us to use in the market, but sooner or later it will be just like a piece of paper that nothings special about it.

magneto

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I really don't know how this can be anything but the harsh truth.

There has simply been no fiat currencies that has held its value, over long periods of time. You could look at the US dollar and say that it's been around for decades. However, if you actually look at the 'real' value of USD, you'd find that it's on a gradual yet consistent decline.

It's not just paper money either. It's fiat currency in any form, even if it's electronic. There is a distinct difference between electronic fiat currencies, that have centralized supplies, and a decentralized alternatives such as bitcoin. Bitcoin has value, because it is supply is controlled in a decentralized way, unlike government issued currencies.

Samarkand

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Quote from: Aveatrex on June 05, 2018, 01:16:14 PM

...
The biggest inflation rate I saw was in venezuela which resulted a huge crisis I wonder how governments manage this.

I think you have it backwards. Inflation is just the end result of disastrous policy
in Venezuela over the last 10 years. The only way that the inflation rate in a country
can reach levels like in Venezuela is if the economic output has completely collapsed.

Of course an expansion of the money supply by the central banks can also lead to high inflation, but not
to the level of inflation that is seen in Zimbabwe or Venezuela.

Harlot

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Quote from: HabBear on June 06, 2018, 12:33:59 AM

Quote from: timerland on June 05, 2018, 04:02:38 PM

Paper money is worth nothing intrinsically, apart from the paper that was used to make the notes. This is because governments can always turn more of the paper that money is printed on into actual currency that we deem as valuable. However, there are absolutely no guarantees that fiat will ever retain its value.

This statement isn't true actually, but the error doesn't change the ultimate meaning.

Paper money is worth nothing intrinsically, but not because governments can print more of it. Paper money has no intrinsic value because it's printed on paper and paper is not rare.

Bitcoin, however, is much different (as all of you know and have stated or implied here).

Quote from: Theb on June 06, 2018, 12:11:21 AM

The only way Fiat Money will go back to its intrinsic value is when the government does not recognized it as a legal tender anymore.

Fiat money never had intrinsic value.

I think that is what he meant by going back to its intrinsic value which is 0. I remembered the time when our country has printed a new design for our paper bills and they have set a deadline of 2 years to exchange our old bills to the new ones in the central bank. Basically after 2 years the government will demonetized the old bills. Now if you even try ti use the old bills as payment no one will accept it because there is now no value within it.

HabBear

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Quote from: timerland on June 05, 2018, 04:02:38 PM

Paper money is worth nothing intrinsically, apart from the paper that was used to make the notes. This is because governments can always turn more of the paper that money is printed on into actual currency that we deem as valuable. However, there are absolutely no guarantees that fiat will ever retain its value.

This statement isn't true actually, but the error doesn't change the ultimate meaning.

Paper money is worth nothing intrinsically, but not because governments can print more of it. Paper money has no intrinsic value because it's printed on paper and paper is not rare.

Bitcoin, however, is much different (as all of you know and have stated or implied here).

Quote from: Theb on June 06, 2018, 12:11:21 AM

The only way Fiat Money will go back to its intrinsic value is when the government does not recognized it as a legal tender anymore.

Fiat money never had intrinsic value.

Theb

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The only way Fiat Money will go back to its intrinsic value is when the government does not recognized it as a legal tender anymore. These happen on a lot of occassions, for example the government are printing a new design for their legal tender, by having a new design for their paper money the government is on the process of devaluing their old money. But we cannot really generalize paper money and always start looking for its intrinsic value, because without the government and its economy backing it up it is just a piece if paper for us.

ss890

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Quote from: Aveatrex on June 05, 2018, 01:16:14 PM

Voltaire said:

Quote

Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value -zero

What do you think of his says? We concretely see big inflation rates inside many countries but can this really lead to zero value?The biggest inflation rate I saw was in venezuela which resulted a huge crisis I wonder how governments manage this.

This can surely happen but not so soon. We went all the way from trades of stones a millennium ago, then woods, copper, silver , gold , and now paper money. We have changed many things since past few thousand years and this major chnage may also lead to some other technique of trading things. May be crypto currency being one of the revolution in the digital world can be another breakthrough for this.

Thus if we consider past future specs then it may happen that fiat currency or today's paper bills might just go next to zero if inflation continues like this.

Getcoinsite

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Quote from: Aveatrex on June 05, 2018, 01:16:14 PM

Voltaire said:

Quote

Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value -zero

What do you think of his says? We concretely see big inflation rates inside many countries but can this really lead to zero value?The biggest inflation rate I saw was in venezuela which resulted a huge crisis I wonder how governments manage this.

I doubt it,fiats will work along with cryptocurrency in future,yes crypto coins will took over the main usage of transactions since computer age is coming ,but lets not never forget that this Virtual Money's only works with electricity and if theres none then fiats will do the works,because no virtual transactions will happen if the electricity is not present.thats what im seeing the situation for to tomorrow

Hydrogen

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History repeats itself when people fail to learn from the past.

Schools, news media and the establishment all fail to teach youth dangers inherent in fiat currencies(perhaps this is by design). The knowledge and education that comes with knowing fiat has a tendency to eventually devalue and hyperinflate has a tendency to fade over time. Eventually, future generations know nothing about fiat failures of the past, which makes them susceptible to Voltaire's quotation being 100% accurate.

The same might be said of economic recession/depression and other negative precedents. Successive generations receive gradually declining standards of education on those topics which makes it easier for them to be reproduced.

timerland

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Paper money is worth nothing intrinsically, apart from the paper that was used to make the notes. This is because governments can always turn more of the paper that money is printed on into actual currency that we deem as valuable. However, there are absolutely no guarantees that fiat will ever retain its value.

It doesn't even have to be paper money, it could be centralized, electronic currency.

I agree with this quote. We haven't seen a single fiat currency hold its value at all over the long term. It may take time for it to lose value, but eventually, it will. That's why I feel like decentralized currencies are where most of your assets should be put into.

darkangel11

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Don't let others control your BTC -> self custody

This is a philosophical quote as this may take hundreds or even thousands of years, but it of course is true. If we think about the US dollar, it's a very young currency, but in its short life it has already underwent major changes resulting in huge inflation. $1 in the year 1860 is equivalent in purchasing power to $27.28 in 2015, a difference of $26.28 over 155 years. Cents are already barely used as they are more expensive to produce than they are worth. Wait another 50 years and nobody will be using cons at all because their value will be non-existent, which will mean that Voltaire's words are true. First metal coins, then paper bills...

Aveatrex

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Voltaire said:

Quote

Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value -zero

What do you think of his says? We concretely see big inflation rates inside many countries but can this really lead to zero value?The biggest inflation rate I saw was in venezuela which resulted a huge crisis I wonder how governments manage this.

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