Well, I had to bite. I just finished reading this post and I have a pretty basic question. In what way is western civilization stupid?

I ask this because there seem to be some rather faulty thinking being espoused by the 'spiritualist', socialists and communitarians on this thread.

Let start off with what money is. In modern times, we use a fiat monetary system. Where as at one point it was backed by precious metals it currently can not be 'redeemed' for anything. So then what is money? Money is a unit of measure. It represents an interchangeable unit. It represents time, values and worth. When you are talking about money you are talking about what people value or rather their values.

How much is an hour of your time worth? How much would you pay for xyz? what is the value of life? All of these things can be measured by money. You can derive this value from either the exchange traded value or by measuring indifference curves but regardless, what a society spends on is what it values.

I am not surprised by the modern day malthusians that seem to populate these discussions. I will put forward that we will never run out of 'space' nor will we ever run out of oil. And it is a fallacy that somehow the native americans (western hemisphere) were a group of animal loving communitarians. They fought wars just like they did in the west. And they 'managed' their environment with regular fires to maintain their lifestyles.


Like so much else, from each according to his ability to each according to his need is fundamentally flawed. Who determines and how is this to be determined? What is the fair 'price'?

Come and join me in the dark side of libertarians. The only thing you have to lose are your chains. =)