Online Content

1. Shorb, Alan McK, "Money- A Systems View"

Type:
Document
Date Created:
1987
Collection:
System Dynamic Society Records
Collecting Area:
University Archives
Collection ID:
ua435
Parent Record(s):
23d738ba88f8333bc39725f9cb5bd0b8, 83d7d84d4a906b77a877f50ccddf0ccd, and ef456d2a6c943c510d5169405dfd9416
Thumbnail Path Ss:
/downloads/wp989385s?file=thumbnail
System Modified Dtsi:
2020-01-02T18:41:32Z
Description:
This is a paper about possibilities. It is the beginning of an investigation into the influence of perceptions of money on the dynamics of major economic policies. No concrete results are reported.We begin with anecdotal evidence that many economic policies are based on a local and static perception of money. Local in that it only considers the part of the economic environment which directly impacts on, or is impacted by, the policies being made. Static in that it considers this environment to be essentially unaffected by those policies.This usual perception of money is illustrated by exploring a number of common thoughts about money. This exploration reveals the confusion surrounding this perception. In order to penetrate this confusion, a step-by-step examination is conducted of the role that money plays in an economy. This examination leads to another perception of money: Money has no value itself; it is merely a proxy for economic product that already exists. This perception is more global and dynamic than the usual point of view. Global because the focus on economic product forces one to consider the full economic context of a transaction. Dynamic because that emphasis leads one to consider the impact of decisions on the whole economy.A number of everyday economic transactions are illuminated by the new perception of money in such a way that consideration of those transactions naturally relates them to a wider economic system. Armed with this appreciation of economic transactions, the anecdotes presented early in the paper are revisited. In this visit, the new perception of money automatically suggests different approaches that the decision maker could take.