I think that there are a lot of fools who dream of riches but who aren't ready to do any hard work for it.
The labor theory of value has been debunked for a long time.
I agree that labour theory of value had it's holes, but it wasn't all wrong.
It was argued that things should have value based on the work that has been spent on producing it. What was left out was the perspective of the consumers and how high they value a specific product. If someone spends 100hours to produce a pile of crap, then should he be rewarded for these hours? The obvious answer is no.
There is a catch though. If you leave out labour entirely, then it opens a big gate for deception. Then those will be rewarded who will deceive the consumer into believing that even a pile of crap has value. We can see this in the modern western world, where advertisement is spiralling out of control more and more every day. Advertisement should be used to inform the consumer, not to deceive the consumer, but the informative part has shrank into oblivion. Nowadays advertisement is openly deceiving the consumer and everyone involved get highly rewarded for that.
So, I think that the truth is somewhere in the middle. But in the context of my previous post, one truth remains.
If you want to generate wealth, then you have to either 1) work hard 2) be talented 3) deceive others
Now, with an honest heart, do you think that the majority of the people in this sub-forum are either working hard or being talented for the reward they think they are entitled for?
Just like bitcoin is advertised as an practical tool of finance, but only the numb minded ones get deceived by that rhetoric. "The cab drivers and grocery clerks" who have dreams of easy riches.
This deception is done to invite new members, who would increase the wealth of the older members. So, I really can't see much difference between bitcoin and a pyramid scheme. Can you? If so, then could you explain it?
A practical tool of finance, in a form of an currency, would be something that would be useless as an speculative investment. You could invest in the framework surrounding that currency, but the unit value should stay stable, and therefore useless for speculation. "The cab drivers and grocery clerks" wouldn't like that, because this would need better knowledge then to buy and hodl. Then you would have to have knowledge and experience on how an actual business works. But how many of those "choo choo" folks have ran their own business in the field of finance?
When the unit value is attractive for investments, then it just isn't possible to implement an stability mechanism to the unit value of the currency. And stability is THE thing needed for a quality currency. If you compare two different fiat's, then the main factor to consider is stability. With a stable currency, it's possible to make proper planning and predictions, which in turn are the foundation of an strong economy.