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        ID-3-2          Paper tiger.                  November 26th, 1985




        Paper Tiger.


        Once banks became reliable, they attracted greater deposits.


        As the deposits grew, the amount of money that never left the 
        bank also grew, and with it the possibility of lending out that 
        money for profit. 


        The bank was however still limited by the amount of actual cash 
        or bullion it carried.


        The introduction of bank notes changed all that.


        Banks began to issue receipts for the gold deposited with them 
        and found that these receipts were themselves being used as money 
        between traders in the community.


        The pieces of paper were simply promises that the bearer could 
        receive that much "real" money for the paper at the bank.


        It became apparent that few of these notes were ever presented, 
        and those that were could be easily honoured from a small 
        reserve, or by further borrowing from another bank. 


        Thus it became possible to issue far more notes than the reserve 
        actually covered and to make profit from the service provided.


        Since then it has really been nothing but a paper-chase.


        All conventional money has become essentially valueless in 
        itself.


        Precious metal might be considered valuable, but paper is just 
        paper.


        All of our money is thus nothing more than a system of tickets.


        If you have the right pieces of paper, you can go to the dance.







        Landsman Community Services Ltd.              ID-3-2    Page    1

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