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1 hour ago, dream_weaver said:

This summary is out of OPAR:

(Money itself must be a freely chosen material value, a commodity such as gold, which is an objective equivalent of wealth. Under capitalism, money is not worthless paper arbitrarily decreed to be legal tender by men in positions of political power.)

In The Ayn Rand Letter, Vol III, No. 12 Moral Inflation:

Today, people are beginning to understand that the government's account is overdrawn, that a piece of paper is not the equivalent of a gold coin, or an automobile, or a loaf of bread—and that if you attempt to falsify monetary values, you do not achieve abundance, you merely debase the currency and go bankrupt.

or in Vol III, No. 19 Egalitarianism and Inflation:

Now project what would happen to your community of a hundred hard-working, prosperous, forward-moving people, if one man were allowed to trade on your market, not by means of gold, but by means of paper—i.e., if he paid you, not with a material commodity, not with goods he had actually produced, but merely with a promissory note on his future production.

There is also the passage from Francisco's The Meaning of Money about 3/4 of the way through The Aristocracy of Pull.

Miss Rand tended to tender the term gold. She exchanged it with "a material commodity" in the latter cited reference.

 

Then money as such is not something to be dictated by government, but being central to most exchanges and contracts, must be an aspect and important consideration of the body of law regarding "collisions" and dealings between people, i.e. torts and contract etc. (monetary damages being part of tort law and almost every contract involves exchange) which the judiciary of a proper government would be responsible for developing in accordance with correct principles.

Edited by StrictlyLogical
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1 hour ago, StrictlyLogical said:

Then money as such is not something to be dictated by government, but being central to most exchanges and contracts, must be an aspect and important consideration of the body of law regarding "collisions" and dealings between people, i.e. torts and contract etc. (monetary damages being part of tort law and almost every contract involves exchange) which the judiciary of a proper government would be responsible for developing in accordance with correct principles.

The most obvious question to me is:

Can a proper government be responsible for developing a body of law regarding "collisions' and dealings between people in accordance with correct principles while at the same time invoking (dictating) a fiat monetary system?

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2 hours ago, dream_weaver said:

The most obvious question to me is:

Can a proper government be responsible for developing a body of law regarding "collisions' and dealings between people in accordance with correct principles while at the same time invoking (dictating) a fiat monetary system?

I think the development of tort law and contract law are more subject to improper ethics and politics than any kind of danger ideas surrounding a fiat monetary system could ever cause.  If the law itself as developed by an improper government is flawed eg monetary damages too high or too low, the monetary system is likely not to blame.

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1 hour ago, StrictlyLogical said:

I think the development of tort law and contract law are more subject to improper ethics and politics than any kind of danger ideas surrounding a fiat monetary system could ever cause.

I disagree, but since we already have handed down to us a pretty good tort and contract law and associated judicial case law that is a moot point.  We will see what danger the world-wide fiat monetary schemes can cause.

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6 hours ago, Grames said:

I disagree, but since we already have handed down to us a pretty good tort and contract law and associated judicial case law that is a moot point.  We will see what danger the world-wide fiat monetary schemes can cause.

Let me restate so as to clarify my meaning. 

The damage courts can do to individuals and their lives is markedly different in the following classes of systems while they are actively and currently operating:

1. An improper system in which altruism collectivism and statism runs rampant as philosophical motivations and bases for all forms of justice, which system also happens to have ANY monetary system (free or centrally planned)

2 A mixed improper system in which proper ethics and politics the noninitiation of harm and trader principles and individual rights proper are the strong philosophical motivations and bases for all forms of justice, which also happens to (presently have) a fiat money system which is used for compensation damages or restitution.

 

This does not mean 2 is actually proper.  Nor that 1 or 2 could last Indefinitely.

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19 hours ago, StrictlyLogical said:

If the law itself as developed by an improper government is flawed eg monetary damages too high or too low, the monetary system is likely not to blame.

I wasn't thinking in such terms.

22 hours ago, dream_weaver said:

. . . in accordance with correct principles while at the same time invoking (dictating) a fiat monetary system?

I'm thinking of it in terms of being rational about everything . . . 'cept this one thing. "If I can keep this one arbitrary setter of value, I'll be a rational valuer in all other things." It cedes permission to the mind that being a rational valuer in all things is not required. Exception one is eventually followed by exception two . . .

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