I can kinda feel what you’re getting at. The value of currency essentially only comes from a chain of beliefs about the value of the currency. In a world where governments can print currency, the value becomes more and more of an abstraction as compared to any kind of value that is linked directly to a material quantity. This is part of the reason cryptocurrencies were invented, so that there is less government shifting of the ground under people’s feet.
At the same time, I often appreciate that the use of things like fixed prices mean that every customer gets the same treatment, regardless of our personal relationship towards the seller. To me, it seems like a fairer world where being friends with the seller, or being a skilled haggler or whatever have no effect on the price, and instead, the price is the price.
I also feel that it is better when prices are lowered according to need—people without the means to pay receiving cheaper or free medical treatment, for example.
In contrast, on the broader scale of things, the ability to lower prices based on “We like each other.” seems much more unfair. After all, someone with a lot of money doesn’t need the prices to be lowered.
I can kinda feel what you’re getting at. The value of currency essentially only comes from a chain of beliefs about the value of the currency. In a world where governments can print currency, the value becomes more and more of an abstraction as compared to any kind of value that is linked directly to a material quantity. This is part of the reason cryptocurrencies were invented, so that there is less government shifting of the ground under people’s feet.
At the same time, I often appreciate that the use of things like fixed prices mean that every customer gets the same treatment, regardless of our personal relationship towards the seller. To me, it seems like a fairer world where being friends with the seller, or being a skilled haggler or whatever have no effect on the price, and instead, the price is the price.
I also feel that it is better when prices are lowered according to need—people without the means to pay receiving cheaper or free medical treatment, for example.
In contrast, on the broader scale of things, the ability to lower prices based on “We like each other.” seems much more unfair. After all, someone with a lot of money doesn’t need the prices to be lowered.
From another perspective, there is this: The double thank you of capitalism.