Logic Discussions: The Concept of Money

I thought I'd write this piece as I often see people conflating economic terms, and representing the term "money" incorrectly. There are many people who say "there is no value to money" or "money is just paper", and although I understand what they are trying to say, it isn't accurate to say those things. So, I figured I'd lay this out from a free market perspective, and define it as thoroughly as I can.

What money isn't

First off, money isn't just another word for currency. Currencies can represent money, but a currency is merely a legalised representation of money, and not what money represents itself. It is whatever form a given group or individual will willingly accept. In the confines of statism, that form is often limited to a single form of scrip within the limits of the borders of a nation.

Money isn't assets either, like gold or silver, although those two examples are extremely good for providing a form of it. Again, such assets can be used to represent money, but the do not define what money is, any more than the paper currency we have today does. All these things are what money can eventually become, but not what it actually is, conceptually.

So... what is it then?

As a concept, money is a representation of the time & labour you have spent being productive in your life. The value of that spent time is determined by everyone else via the markets, or directly by a contract. It is your past efforts given a physical representation, which you can then exchange with others for what you actually desire. The adage "time is money" really is true, and it does work both ways.

Wait, how does that make it different than a currency again?

Well for one, a currency isn't the only means of exchange, it's just the one means of exchange allowed by the government where you are. Secondly, in today's world, almost every currency is "Fiat currency", and the worth of that currency decreases for every unit whenever the government decides to produce more scrip. In all honesty, modern currencies bear more of a resemblance to stocks in a nation itself than actual money.

Money & the State

For me, the government bastardizes money by forcing one means of exchange upon us, but it goes sooo much further. They routinely take a portion of your money, your stored time, and spend those efforts how they see fit without any approval from you, the individual who spent that time in the first place. This is why I get particularly incensed by people who actually want taxes to exist. They are advocating that you have your past stolen from you, often to pay for other people's past mistakes, mistakes that were made even before you were born. Is it right for us to continue to suffer from the mistakes of our ancestors? Is it right to have your time stolen from you, because "reasons"? I say it isn't, but I can also see other ways of doing things besides relying on government.

Conclusion
So, the next time someone says to you "money has no value", I hope you will correct their terminology, or ask them "don't your past labours have value?" and the next time someone claims taxes are worthy, or the "price we pay for a civilised world", or whatever other bollocks is used to sugar coat & redefine the meaning of theft, I hope you will remember it isn't just paper being stolen from you, it's your time as well. Don't you think you know how best to spend it?