I don't try to define "dollar" - my posts are an attempt to define "money."

My definition: Money is not a thing; money is a method of transferring ownership of things.

Since money is a "method" or a technique; money is actually a communication of ownership of real stuff by proxy.

As such, there is no danger of collapse of "money."

There is an almost certain danger of collapse of faith in "dollar."

Two general and interlocking presumptions keep people locked into the same thought cycle. The first presumption is that money is a *thing* , and the second presumption is that money is a natural monopoly best controlled by a centralized "authority."


The following rational is to show how money can actually be a variety of methods of transferring things of value by proxy, and these methods can operate at competition thus filling Hayek's premise in "DENATIONALIZATION OF MONEY."

There are three general categories of things of value that could be the basis for issuance of money.

1. Commodities and finished products held for claim can be the basis for a form of warehouse receipt - a bearer title instrument.
2. A promise to create and deliver something of value in the future - the promissory note - a form of a contract.
3. Human time as represented by a symbol such as the Ithaca Hour and redeemable in human intellectual and physical labor.


Each of these categories could in turn be broken down into general classes of total value.

1. Commodities, Products, Promises, and Time of high value and backed by insurance policies and/or performance bonds. Guaranteed redemption.
2. Commodities, Products, Promises, and Time of moderate or medium value backed by cross collateralization such as cooperative membership and/or corporation stock, and/or union affiliation in the case of Time Symbols. The second class of value might be backed by a formalized system of mutual credit.
3. Commodities, Products, Promises, and Time of low value could be transmitted without guarantee other than word of mouth recommendation and/or reputation records such as e-bay keeps on buyers and sellers.


Examining this structure in some depth you start to see that an entire matrix of things that can be money appears.

When you see that money is actually a method or set of methods of conveying ownership by proxy, then it becomes readily apparent that there should never be any shortage of money.

It is the limitation of money to be a single *thing* (things are found in limited quantities) rather than money as a communication that control freaks who steal by lying are enabled of their fraud.

Using precious metals for your "utterance" of money is essentially an anti-counterfeiting measure. Study out what the casinos do to issue gambling chips - they have a counterfeiting problem too, and have solved that problem by a variety of techniques.