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Study Guide to Man, Economy, and State with Power and Market

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142 <strong>Study</strong> <strong>Guide</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Man</strong>, <strong>Economy</strong>, <strong>and</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>with</strong> <strong>Power</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Market</strong><br />

6. The Supply of Money<br />

A. The S<strong>to</strong>ck of the Money Commodity<br />

The <strong>to</strong>tal s<strong>to</strong>ck of money increases <strong>with</strong> mining, etc.,<br />

but decreases through wear <strong>and</strong> tear, <strong>and</strong> as the money<br />

commodity is devoted <strong>to</strong> industrial or consumption purposes.<br />

B. Claims <strong>to</strong> Money: The Money Warehouse<br />

A warehouse may issue certificates entitling the<br />

bearer <strong>to</strong> a certain good s<strong>to</strong>red in the warehouse. If the<br />

community has no reason <strong>to</strong> doubt the reliability of<br />

redemption, the certificates may circulate as goods-substitutes.<br />

In the case of money, the warehouse may realize that<br />

it can issue a greater number of certificates than it can<br />

redeem; this is “fractional reserve banking” (FRB), <strong>and</strong><br />

explains banks’ current susceptibility <strong>to</strong> “runs.” In a free<br />

market, FRB would be illegal because of its fraudulent<br />

nature.<br />

C. Money-Substitutes <strong>and</strong> the Supply of<br />

Money<br />

Because the public may accept money-substitutes as<br />

readily as the original money commodity, they are a<br />

commonly accepted medium of exchange <strong>and</strong> hence<br />

must be classified as money. “Money in the broader<br />

sense” refers <strong>to</strong> the <strong>to</strong>tal supply of money (including<br />

money certificates) in people’s cash balances, while<br />

“money proper” or “st<strong>and</strong>ard money” refers only <strong>to</strong> the<br />

supply of the original money commodity.<br />

Under 100-percent reserve banking, deposits in the<br />

banking system do not influence the <strong>to</strong>tal supply of

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