Why Does the State Have a Monopoly on Money?
12th July 2025
Well, actually, it doesn’t. Money is anything of value that can be used in trade (the ‘value’ of paper fiat currency is that governments will accept it in payment for debts to the government, which in modern society are almost inevitable). Tobacco products are famously used as ‘money’ in prisons; when I lived in New York City, subway tokens were almost universally accepted as being worth the nominal value of a subway fare (25 cents at the time). If people wanted to use gold and silver, whether in the form of coins or even of bits and pieces, they could do that. (The fact that doing so would be inconvenient and that most people are bone-lazy would generate enough friction to prevent it in most circumstances, but it could be done.)