Money Is Political, Not Technical

[aleksei_chizhov]

I agree that money is political. But can we abandon money? I think we can’t.

[stayeduptolate]

This truth really struck home as I read this piece by Dr. Steven Englander, a big thinker and expert in currencies and macro-investing who has worked in the Fed, Citi, Lehman Bros., the OECD, etc.

At the center of his conclusion that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have no real value proposition is that the top Western currencies have no store-of-value problem.  True, the US is not Zimbabwe, or Venezuela, but is a bright person like himself not aware that a dollar or pound is worth a small fraction of itself decades to a century ago?  Somone else could be forgiven for the oversight, but surely someone of the stature of Dr. Englander should know better.  At least when he writes a long and thoughtful piece like this.

Which brings me to, really, my pet peeve.  We all talk about the technical features of this money or that.  Electronic vs. physical.  Inflationary or deflationary.  Even transactional speed and cost.  But truly, the only things that really matter are political.  (That is, after a money satisfies the basic requirements, which is not a problem here.)

And I'm not even talking about how money affects the distribution of benefits to different political constituents, whether it benefits debtors vs. creditors, etc., etc.  That is a good topic for another time.  I'm talking about something deeper.  Money is political in the truest, most precise, and widest sense of the word.  And the political dividing line is not between left and right, but between the top politicians and bankers, and everyone else.

Money determines how much goes to the elites and their allies, and how much goes to everyone else.  In the service of the political goal of maximizing benefits for the former, all things tend to get distorted.  Not only is the economy twisted into producing too many luxuries for the beneficiaries by providing unstable employment to the rest (because, after all, luxuries are bought, or not, at the whims of the lucky.)  All the mainstream commentary we hear, somehow, only reflects what the elites want us to think.

According to what we now have to call mouth-pieces of the elites, somehow, people always chase bubbles, and always get hurt, because they're irrational, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.  Central-bank money creation is *never* a driving factor.  No, never.

We're living in a lie, and the earlier we wake up to it, the better.  What officials and mainstream media and academics tell us must sometimes be dismissed with: it's just politics.

I also agreed with him the the flactuation in all crypto currencies including bitcoin is more likely to be political rather than to be technical. We can also see that the recent flactuation in the valuation of bitcoin is very much influential and it goes ups and downs, in recent months mostly down because many countries has denied to legalise it and even media is spreading negative rumours about bitcoin but still the valuation little depends technically also.

[Snaic]

Money has always been a reflection of politics. At all times, new states began with the fact that they were releasing their money. Their forgery was considered one of the most serious crimes and was regarded as an undermining of the state's economy. Therefore, with the legalization of the crypto currency, we are still in big trouble. The state does not want to let in its economy as money virtual money of a very large value, which can not be controlled.

[zakariajaki]

This truth really struck home as I read this piece by Dr. Steven Englander, a big thinker and expert in currencies and macro-investing who has worked in the Fed, Citi, Lehman Bros., the OECD, etc.

At the center of his conclusion that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have no real value proposition is that the top Western currencies have no store-of-value problem.  True, the US is not Zimbabwe, or Venezuela, but is a bright person like himself not aware that a dollar or pound is worth a small fraction of itself decades to a century ago?  Somone else could be forgiven for the oversight, but surely someone of the stature of Dr. Englander should know better.  At least when he writes a long and thoughtful piece like this.

Which brings me to, really, my pet peeve.  We all talk about the technical features of this money or that.  Electronic vs. physical.  Inflationary or deflationary.  Even transactional speed and cost.  But truly, the only things that really matter are political.  (That is, after a money satisfies the basic requirements, which is not a problem here.)

And I'm not even talking about how money affects the distribution of benefits to different political constituents, whether it benefits debtors vs. creditors, etc., etc.  That is a good topic for another time.  I'm talking about something deeper.  Money is political in the truest, most precise, and widest sense of the word.  And the political dividing line is not between left and right, but between the top politicians and bankers, and everyone else.

Money determines how much goes to the elites and their allies, and how much goes to everyone else.  In the service of the political goal of maximizing benefits for the former, all things tend to get distorted.  Not only is the economy twisted into producing too many luxuries for the beneficiaries by providing unstable employment to the rest (because, after all, luxuries are bought, or not, at the whims of the lucky.)  All the mainstream commentary we hear, somehow, only reflects what the elites want us to think.

According to what we now have to call mouth-pieces of the elites, somehow, people always chase bubbles, and always get hurt, because they're irrational, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.  Central-bank money creation is *never* a driving factor.  No, never.

We're living in a lie, and the earlier we wake up to it, the better.  What officials and mainstream media and academics tell us must sometimes be dismissed with: it's just politics.

I really like the opinion in your writing, and I agree with your opinion that all is still refracted with things politics, less rational explanation, to influence freedom of thought, I personally still optimistic with crypto and future will prove himself , good writing friends, success for all of us

[aso118]

Money has always been a reflection of politics. At all times, new states began with the fact that they were releasing their money. Their forgery was considered one of the most serious crimes and was regarded as an undermining of the state's economy. Therefore, with the legalization of the crypto currency, we are still in big trouble. The state does not want to let in its economy as money virtual money of a very large value, which can not be controlled.

Forgery was considered a big problem in ancient times. Forgers were given horrific punishments, including chopping off of limbs, to ensure that people don't try to attempt it. Bitcoin has solved this problem, but now the state realizes that their monopoly is under threat. Forgers seem to represent a smaller threat than Bitcoin.

[thomas.sgat]

In our occidental countries, we are totally independent from the banking systems that force us to pay fees to dispose of our money. 
Do you realize that your bank requires you to pay "account maintenance" fees, by imposing limits, when it is your money? 
Today, more than 50% of the world's population does not have access to a bank account  yet we see their proliferation on every street corner in our developed countries.
It's normal, banks create money.
Nobody really has euros, they are simply "units of account".
French commercial banks actually have a maximum of 7% of their real liquidity. (Against 19% in Switzerland, highest in Europe)
In this sense, if everyone wants to empty their account, it becomes impossible. (See Greece in 2008)

If you pay a merchant who uses the same bank as yours, no euro has actually spent.
If this merchant uses another bank, the clearing house will convert your account units into euros, and vice versa.
The European Central Bank obliges commercial banks to create liquidity in the form of bank loans and it is the banks that get rich at the expense of the population. 
This banking system is, in my opinion, the scam of the century and is dangerous for the survival of the economy;
Debt is increasing day by day, the next crisis will be monstrous.

[BobK71]

In our occidental countries, we are totally independent from the banking systems that force us to pay fees to dispose of our money.
Do you realize that your bank requires you to pay "account maintenance" fees, by imposing limits, when it is your money?  
Today, more than 50% of the world's population does not have access to a bank account  yet we see their proliferation on every street corner in our developed countries.
It's normal, banks create money.
Nobody really has euros, they are simply "units of account".
French commercial banks actually have a maximum of 7% of their real liquidity. (Against 19% in Switzerland, highest in Europe)
In this sense, if everyone wants to empty their account, it becomes impossible. (See Greece in 2008)

If you pay a merchant who uses the same bank as yours, no euro has actually spent.
If this merchant uses another bank, the clearing house will convert your account units into euros, and vice versa.
The European Central Bank obliges commercial banks to create liquidity in the form of bank loans and it is the banks that get rich at the expense of the population.  
This banking system is, in my opinion, the scam of the century and is dangerous for the survival of the economy;
Debt is increasing day by day, the next crisis will be monstrous.

Thank you for the good insight.

The banking system is a classic piece of my definition of the core of the world system as a scheme by the alliance of political and financial elites to artificially prop up financial assets with state power.  When the asset values hold, the elites benefit by issuing the assets without doing real work.  When the bubble finally collapses, the average people pay the highest price.

The asset here is bank 'deposits.'  'Deposits' are just claims on a bank that are impossible to honor except in a bubble of confidence, that is protected by schemes like government deposit insurance, implicit promises by the government to bail out the bank, etc.  In the US, the total premium paid for federal deposit insurance can't begin to pay for bank failures if everyone wants their money out.

What the banking system does is to increase the total supply of 'money' in the economy, which will then feed into other financial assets that primarily benefit the elites, for example, federal debt.

But the average person is stuck.  If they don't put money in the banking system, it earns no interest, and the person still has to live under the general inflation created by the increase of money supply from banking.

Most conspiracies are secret.  But the world system is an open conspiracy.  Open conspiracies are possible to carry out only when you have enough power, combined with enough public ignorance, combined with enough public addiction to their pieces of the 'benefits.'

[RockBar0]

Money is political and that supposes why fiat of every nation has the backing of their respective governments. Anything that has a store of value could be money once it has the government policies around it for that. Since Bitcoin hasn't got that policy backing of the government to become money, it can't despite how a means of exchange the crypto community sees it to be with all its technicalities.

That is, of course, because the state is guaranteed by their government. When there is government involvement, they have more peace of mind and that can be called economic politics. But they will pay a higher price than the prize, because they pay taxes to their government. And that is economic politics, not discipline that people think.

[etnichalx837]

In the modern world, politics is the driving force of life in society, while money as fuel can accelerate the desired goal. So from that politics and money become a mutually supportive entity, that is to be balanced. As we see everywhere politicians waste money to pursue positions, with the aim of gaining profit that the end result is money. So money is used as a tool to achieve goals.

[TurboPower]

This truth really struck home as I read this piece by Dr. Steven Englander, a big thinker and expert in currencies and macro-investing who has worked in the Fed, Citi, Lehman Bros., the OECD, etc.

At the center of his conclusion that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have no real value proposition is that the top Western currencies have no store-of-value problem.  True, the US is not Zimbabwe, or Venezuela, but is a bright person like himself not aware that a dollar or pound is worth a small fraction of itself decades to a century ago?  Somone else could be forgiven for the oversight, but surely someone of the stature of Dr. Englander should know better.  At least when he writes a long and thoughtful piece like this.

Which brings me to, really, my pet peeve.  We all talk about the technical features of this money or that.  Electronic vs. physical.  Inflationary or deflationary.  Even transactional speed and cost.  But truly, the only things that really matter are political.  (That is, after a money satisfies the basic requirements, which is not a problem here.)

And I'm not even talking about how money affects the distribution of benefits to different political constituents, whether it benefits debtors vs. creditors, etc., etc.  That is a good topic for another time.  I'm talking about something deeper.  Money is political in the truest, most precise, and widest sense of the word.  And the political dividing line is not between left and right, but between the top politicians and bankers, and everyone else.

Money determines how much goes to the elites and their allies, and how much goes to everyone else.  In the service of the political goal of maximizing benefits for the former, all things tend to get distorted.  Not only is the economy twisted into producing too many luxuries for the beneficiaries by providing unstable employment to the rest (because, after all, luxuries are bought, or not, at the whims of the lucky.)  All the mainstream commentary we hear, somehow, only reflects what the elites want us to think.

According to what we now have to call mouth-pieces of the elites, somehow, people always chase bubbles, and always get hurt, because they're irrational, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.  Central-bank money creation is *never* a driving factor.  No, never.

We're living in a lie, and the earlier we wake up to it, the better.  What officials and mainstream media and academics tell us must sometimes be dismissed with: it's just politics.

Great post yet I think you are packing excessively in the manner in which things work now, in the event that you take a gander at the past you will see that the advantage which was chosen as a type of cash was the one that had the best attributes, this is the reason in antiquated circumstances gold and silver were picked by numerous autonomous societies as their type of cash, yet this has been mutilated as of late, bitcoin is only an approach to attempt to return to those circumstances in which the prevalent resource ended up prevailing.

[repzaj]

this is a good post to be discussed. Yes the money is now the one who make the political become greedy, that is why a lot of people are suffering because of there greediness, corruption, etc..

[coinplus]

Forgery was considered a big problem in ancient times. Forgers were given horrific punishments, including chopping off of limbs, to ensure that people don't try to attempt it. Bitcoin has solved this problem, but now the state realizes that their monopoly is under threat. Forgers seem to represent a smaller threat than Bitcoin.

That is the reason in a way, the application of blockchain technology will become rampant as days go by, with so many governments already trying to see how it can be applied and integrated into the system for a better approach to things, and how it can help and assist each sector. Yes, we know this is going to be more decentralized anyway, but also it would skyrocket the usage of the blockchain technology and will also give chance to the decentralized world to get exposure as well.

Bitcoin has solved this problem, but now the state realizes that their monopoly is under threat. Forgers seem to represent a smaller threat than Bitcoin.

Bitcoin was introduced to reconstruct the entire industry in a way it must work. Yes, democracy and republic were not working so fat and the momentary systems were controlled by central banks without considering the welfare of common people but only industrialist. A true democracy must work in decentralized way even in daily momentary system too.

[teamcrpt]

Money will probably be spent to purchase votes. If it comes to money in politics there are a couple of things we must clarify off the bat. Since it's about the money. Money is slimy, folks say, and those who handle it are sleazy, folks say. Suppose the excess demand made by the newly created money is readily met with huge supply. Thats when dirty political games starts.

[arpon11]

That is why we need understand on how things work.  The elites will never what us to progress and become one of them and that is why they politicize our monetary system. We may not be able to enjoy our society except we do away with our current Education and financial system and that is why blockchain technology seeing to be the reality we have been waiting for.

[raidarksword]

Politics are just a cancer to society that probably run by money itself. Politics are dirty because it can manipulate people and even economics as well. Since this is the era of crypto currency, it might a hard time for crypto currency to make its way to mainstream because of the hindrance that politics could bring.

[elpiji]

that makes sense, the only way to avoid it is to understand how it works, in fact the decline in bitcoin at this time is due to dirty politics done by certain people to buy bitcoin at a low price and hold it in order to get big profits

[Ilegendph]

Politics dictates on how citizen should live in a place. This make sense why there are different way of living in different countries. The same is true for monetary system because its part of how people lives everyday of their lives.

Politics are just a cancer to society that probably run by money itself. Politics are dirty because it can manipulate people and even economics as well. Since this is the era of crypto currency, it might a hard time for crypto currency to make its way to mainstream because of the hindrance that politics could bring.

If there is no politics, then it would be chaos. I believe you have a misconception in the term. Without politics, no people will talk for a better future for everybody, they will just think of themselves and we all know that this is the way of life before civilization.

[BCSHonda]

Money has always been a reflection of politics. At all times, new states began with the fact that they were releasing their money. Their forgery was considered one of the most serious crimes and was regarded as an undermining of the state's economy. Therefore, with the legalization of the crypto currency, we are still in big trouble. The state does not want to let in its economy as money virtual money of a very large value, which can not be controlled.

Regardless of which areas or issues, money is very important. Particularly politically the ultimate purpose is still money, material wealth. Most countries have profitable and material goods. The desire to achieve that requires certain solutions to achieve the goal. The future of electronic money will be a new step for people to use them, the most flexible way.

[Ajaaraan]

Based on my opinion, in any case, we can verify this if we visit in the future. A limited number of people will benefit from these operations. But from a psychological point of view, bitcoin exists, but not physical.

[BobK71]

Politics dictates on how citizen should live in a place. This make sense why there are different way of living in different countries. The same is true for monetary system because its part of how people lives everyday of their lives.

Politics are just a cancer to society that probably run by money itself. Politics are dirty because it can manipulate people and even economics as well. Since this is the era of crypto currency, it might a hard time for crypto currency to make its way to mainstream because of the hindrance that politics could bring.

If there is no politics, then it would be chaos. I believe you have a misconception in the term. Without politics, no people will talk for a better future for everybody, they will just think of themselves and we all know that this is the way of life before civilization.

I would agree that politics is unavoidable -- we all need a basic framework within which to live with other people in society.

The trouble is that we have very little understanding and agreement on what this framework should be, beyond the basic protection of life and property rights.  The 'extra services,' such as money, provided by the political class (and their banker allies) have become a means to enrich the elites and impoverish the rest of society, because we don't understand enough to hold the elites accountable.