“Historically, large-scale global trade has served two functions: 1) the exchange of goods between willing sellers and buyers described in Econ 101 textbooks; 2) as a tool of state aggrandizement, in which the private parties are stand-ins for governmental interests.” TwoStatesInterestPartyWillingToolsFunctionTradeScalesGoodsTextbooksSellersBuyersLarge ScalePrivate Parts Author:Charles C. Mann
“Debt deflation is when there's less money that people have to spend out of their paychecks on goods and services, because they're paying the FIRE sector. Oil going down is a function of the supply and demand of oil in the market. It's a separate phenomenon.” PeopleFireDemandFunctionDebtOilGoodsPhenomenonPaychecksGoods And ServicesSupply And DemandDeflation Author:Michael Hudson
“A currency serves three functions: providing a means of payment, a unit of account and a store of value. Gold may be a store of value for wealth, but it is not a means of payment. You cannot pay for your groceries with it. Nor is it a unit of account. Prices of goods and services, and of financial assets, are not denominated in gold terms.” MayMeanValuesThreeTermWealthPayGoldAccountsFunctionFinancialStoresGoodsAssetsProvidingCurrencyUnitsPaymentGroceriesGoods And Services Author:Nouriel Roubini
“Is still fulfilling its social function in supplying the consumers with more, better and cheaper goods.” StillsSocialCapitalismFunctionConsumersGoodsFulfillingCheaper Book:Planned Chaos Source: Planned Chaos
“The problem isn't who is in charge. It's what is in charge. The problem is that people are encouraged to function as machines. Or, actually, as mechanisms. Human emotion and sympathy are unprofessional. They are inappropriate to the exercise of reason. Everything which makes people good - makes them human - is ruled out. The system doesn't care about people, but we treat it as if it were one of us, as if it were the sum of our goods and not the product of our least admirable compromises.” PeopleIfsHumansReasonProblemCareEmotionProductsExerciseMachinesTreatsFunctionCompromiseGoodsMechanismAdmirableInappropriateHuman Emotions Book:The Gone-Away World Source: The Gone-Away World