John Steward of Jesus
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The Money Creator's Hoax

August 26, 1981

The myth perpetrated by the money creators revolves around the claim that, because any defined unit of a commodity can serve as a unit of exchange (a unit of money), the unit can be undefined or "variable".  It is said that, because gold, silver, cattle, shells, etc. can all serve as money, and because the unit can be varied (ounce, pound, dollar, etc.), the unit of measure is not fixed, and therefore need not be defined.  It can be varied.  It can be arbitrary, and changed by legislation.  It can be whatever the authority says it is.

We can see the fallacy by asking whether the unit of length (foot, mile) need not be defined simply because any accepted length will serve as a unit of measure.  The fact that any defined unit will serve for measurement does not mean that we can measure with an undefined unit. The undefined unit is the ultimate dream of the dishonest and crooked merchant, especially if he is given the authority to define the unit for others in transactions with them.  It is the ultimate "double standard" or "diverse weight".  It is legalized fraud.  It is insanity.  It should be no surprise that it leads to a collapse of commerce.  An elastic measuring rod does not promote trust.

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