From: Michael S. Lorrey (mike@datamann.com)
Date: Thu Mar 02 2000 - 22:04:33 MST
Dan Fabulich wrote:
> > Barter has always had its niche, and probably will for the foreseeable
> > future. But there is a simple, fundamental reason why currency works better
> > for most transactions. Comparing values of a collection of objects without
> > money is an O(n^2) problem, whereas comparing values in a common reference
> > currency is only an O(n) problem. It would take a rather large disadvantage
> > to offset such a large efficiency gain (as witness the fact that people
> > don't usually revert to barter unless you have really, really serious
> > problems with the money supply).
>
> Well, the usual argument here is that what's getting cheaper is the
> computation. At that point, the cost of simply having, distributing and
> dealing with money is more expensive than doing that more complicated
> calculation.
>
> I doubt we'll ever see complex barter as a ubiquitous part of our economy:
> something spiky will eliminate the economy as we know it long before
> complex barter will make sense.
Just gave me a great idea for a new website....
--
TANSTAAFL!!!
Michael S. Lorrey
Owner, Lorrey Systems
Director, Grafton County Fish & Game Assoc.
http://www.lorrey.com/gcfga/
Member, Extropy Institute
http://www.extropy.org
Member, National Rifle Association
http://www.nra.org
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
- General John Stark
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