Why is money worth anything?

[yetgdhfgh]

Why is money worth anything?

Lets face it since it was taken off the gold standard its just now promises from countries that is seen as trustworthy.

Money from shitty country's aint worth the paper they are printed on but countries like the US and Britain and the EU is worth something?

At the end of the day its just paper and numbers on a computer screen but why is that certain countries money is worth more than others when its all the same worthless paper?

[chazus]

Money is worth what the general growth and productivity of the country is.

Zimbabwe money (for example) is worth so little because there's nothing to back it up. No resources, no production, no product or services. GDP is a large factor.

[Vanyali]

Because people as a group decide that it's worth something.

Said something used to be in a value of something else, but has since shifted to a value based on.. well, the belief of it's value, more or less.

[Slicer299]

Why is money worth anything?

Lets face it since it was taken off the gold standard its just now promises from countries that is seen as trustworthy.

Money from shitty country's aint worth the paper they are printed on but countries like the US and Britain and the EU is worth something?

At the end of the day its just paper and numbers on a computer screen but why is that certain countries money is worth more than others when its all the same worthless paper?

Like absolutely everything, money is worth exactly the value other people are willing to give it. Even back when the US was on the gold standard, the value of US currency was only worth the arbitrary value that people assigned to gold. As to why money from the US is worth something, but money from say Uganda is not, that's very simple. Uganda doesn't produce anything, it provides no goods, services or people to the world that the world benefits from. The US on the other hand has a massive economy, producing goods, services and capable people on a level that only a handful of other major countries can compete with.

[Sunseeker]

It's based on the power of their economy, the ability to back up their "money" which is little more than a promise of future goods and services.

[Ahhdurr]

Because people as a group decide that it's worth something.

Because this.

[NED funded]

Fiat is attached to productivity.

[yetgdhfgh]

It's based on the power of their economy, the ability to back up their "money" which is little more than a promise of future goods and services.

If thats the case why aint chinas money worth more than the US seeing chinas economy is destined to outstrip the US? Will the Yuan be the global currency? Or is it tied to the fact the US will be the top dogs military for a long time to come plus its government is stable therefore more trustworthy?

[Glnger]

Because you can pay your taxes with it, there by having roads, police, fire department, military. Society as most of us know it

[Gamdwelf]

You are learning that money is literally magic. Magic functions on belief, and that is exactly how magic works... because we believe it does.

[Macaquerie]

If thats the case why aint chinas money worth more than the US seeing chinas economy is destined to outstrip the US? Will the Yuan be the global currency? Or is it tied to the fact the US will be the top dogs military for a long time to come plus its government is stable therefore more trustworthy?

The US dollar is the currency of international trade, and will probably continue to be so even if we lose the top spot economically, because the dollar has been the medium of exchange for so long and people are used to it, and convincing every country to switch to the yuan would invite a lot of unnecessary uncertainty that nobody wants to deal with.

The other advantage of the dollar is that we actually have a credible monetary policy that has some degree of transparency just due to the sheer amount of scrutiny it gets. On the other hand, China's monetary policy is extremely erratic and unpredictable, and often seems to be driven more by political concerns than sound economic reasoning.

You are learning that money is literally magic. Magic functions on belief, and that is exactly how magic works... because we believe it does.

Except magic doesn't work because it's not real, no matter how much we believe in it. Money on the other hand is real and works just as intended.

[Gamdwelf]

The US dollar is the currency of international trade, and will probably continue to be so even if we lose the top spot economically, because the dollar has been the medium of exchange for so long and people are used to it, and convincing every country to switch to the yuan would invite a lot of unnecessary uncertainty that nobody wants to deal with.

The other advantage of the dollar is that we actually have a credible monetary policy that has some degree of transparency just due to the sheer amount of scrutiny it gets. On the other hand, China's monetary policy is extremely erratic and unpredictable, and often seems to be driven more by political concerns than sound economic reasoning.



Except magic doesn't work because it's not real, no matter how much we believe in it. Money on the other hand is real and works just as intended.

Plenty of things are magic its definitely real.

[PC2]

Money is worth a lot because it is both highly mobile and scarce(not easily replicated) unlike all other forms of wealth. Most wealth is in more practical forms, such as equipment, land, and buildings.

[OperationFerret]

Because the only alternative to believing in the power of money is to... spend the rest of our lives livin' in an Amish paradise.

[Nihilist74]

Why should gold be worth anything, that money is based on its value. What good is gold? Used in electronics and computers? You could base a currency on the entire amount of natural resources a country has or controls I guess. Salt used to be a valuable currency because people could use it to preserve food.

[chazus]

If thats the case why aint chinas money worth more than the US seeing chinas economy is destined to outstrip the US?

Because up until ~15 years ago, China was an economic craphole. Its GDP has skyrocketed since the 2000s (almost 10x in a decade). It's significantly lower than the US (largely because its population size) but will quite possibly overtake the US in a matter of decades. The US in the meantime has only doubled in a decade.

- - - Updated - - -

Why should gold be worth anything, that money is based on its value. What good is gold?

As far as I'm aware, Gold is a currency because its only one of two elements thats viable for use in a non-barter system (the other being silver). It is both rare, malleable, non-toxic, non-corrosive, and durable.

[Leobald]

Money is worth something because you - and everybody else - believes that it will be worth something not only now, but also in the future. Gold as a currency functioned the same way.

If people would lose faith in money being worth the same in the future, they would just want to get rid of it immediately, which would collapse its value on the spot.

In the end its all about psychology.

[breadisfunny]

Because people as a group decide that it's worth something.

Said something used to be in a value of something else, but has since shifted to a value based on.. well, the belief of it's value, more or less.

gold the word your looking for is GOLD.

[Kellhound]

Money is worth something for the same reason anything is worth something, people agree it is worth something.....

[Deleted]

Money has value because it is currently the most optimal tool to quantify value of goods and services.