Is money infinite?

ubersonic said:
This is worth 40 cents US, so no.

Zimbabwe_100_trillion_2009_Obverse.jpg
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i'm buying a one or two of them.
 
Yes it is it's a man made construct, it is only worth what you think it's worth and/or what other people think it's worth.
 
silversurfer said:
Growth is not infinite but we dont fix the estimate to just one life span, its just a question of what rates are attached to the use of that money I think and how much growth average we expect. Those who lend value to a currency expect a return of some kind, its not an infinite reserve and this value can be placed elsewhere

Money is just used to describe value and exchange in trade between people even while the currency extends beyond strict borders, it has to serve a purpose to those using it. If UK money goes from a population of 60 million to being used by billions, its not infinite but its a very large potential. Dollars are currently used by every country of the world so Im expecting it will reverse and become very much finite :p
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you've got the wrong thread re: growth - has been discussed over several pages in another thread at a similar time to this one

though re: money being 'finite' if that is the case what is the limit? The supply of it is continually increasing.

Look at Zimbabwe for one example - there isn't really a limit, in theory a central bank can print as much as it wants. Perhaps you're limited by the amount of paper you can create... perhaps not as you can represent money electronically... perhaps then you're limited by storage space on hard drives... but then we can create infinite new units by which to denominate it in.... There isn't a theoretical limit to it.
 
No more of less infinite than any less theoretical measurable concept.

A mile is infinite, as is a kilogram - as you can always multiply it once again (given any measurement or item to compare against). Money which has value follows the same logic also, as you can always divide up the 'value believed' in a given item without limit mathematically.

Essentially it's a meaningless question without context.
 
elmarko said:
A mile is infinite, as is a kilogram
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that is badly phrased - a mile isn't 'infinite' and nor is a 'kilogram' they're just units of measure of distance and mass

you can however ask 'is mass infinite' or rather if the amount of mass in our universe is infinite
 
dowie said:
that is badly phrased - a mile isn't 'infinite' and nor is a 'kilogram' they're just units of measure of distance and mass

you can however ask 'is mass infinite' or rather if the amount of mass in our universe is infinite
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Also the kilogram was stupid to use because it is the only unit of measurement that is ridiculously and finitely defined. It is the only Si unit that is defined by a physical object.....

 
estebanrey said:
Also the kilogram was stupid to use because it is the only unit of measurement that is ridiculously and finitely defined. It is the only Si unit that is defined by a physical object.....
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You mean Si base unit? Multiple (20 I think?) Si units are derived from the kg.

Platinum-iridium was chosen as it's density barely changes with temperature or pressure so a set volume will always have the same mass (kg is a measurement of mass, not weight btw) and mass drifts over time in other substances. Conversely - at 4c at 1bar, 1l of pure water will have a mass of 1kg, but the density varies with temperature and pressure, so it's not a reliable measure.

EDIT:-

NVM - it's all in the video!
 
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^^ That was a point I was trying to make, a nation growing can borrow and its prudent. A nation in retraction must run a surplus, theres not a choice on that really. Greece situation became untenable because they have reached stall speed, the debt exceeds their national productivity
delta0 said:
If it was infinite it would be worthless.
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delta wins thread, money just describes what you already have anyway. If it was infinite it would no longer facilitate trade or be accurate and so all money would be worthless

There isn't a theoretical limit to it.
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I believe we are going to reach the limits. In theory they can remove all coins as they become pointless worth etc. What happens is people use something more accurate, if they print money some hope they use bitcoin or more likely foreign currency.
 
silversurfer said:
^^ That was a point I was trying to make, a nation growing can borrow and its prudent. A nation in retraction must run a surplus, theres not a choice on that really. Greece situation became untenable because they have reached stall speed, the debt exceeds their national productivity

delta wins thread, money just describes what you already have anyway. If it was infinite it would no longer facilitate trade or be accurate and so all money would be worthless


I believe we are going to reach the limits. In theory they can remove all coins as they become pointless worth etc. What happens is people use something more accurate, if they print money some hope they use bitcoin or more likely foreign currency.
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Money is a currency, it can be anything, all it requires is debt.

Man 1 "Can I have a favour?"
Man 2 "Sure, can I have this in return?"

Whatever that is, it's a trade, and a currency, it has value. The value is irrelevant, the point is that it was given in return for something else.
 
estebanrey said:
Also the kilogram was stupid to use because it is the only unit of measurement that is ridiculously and finitely defined. It is the only Si unit that is defined by a physical object.....

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Spectacularly missing the point.

You could describe an item with an infinite weight in kilograms, I didn't say an infinite number of any measurement existed. Just that a unit of measurement in isolation isn't limited.

I'm referring to the basic maths of multiplying any figure infinite, not anything related to something that actually exists.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Money is a currency, it can be anything, all it requires is debt.
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Yea I would say thats upside down but perfectly sums up the modern slant to the economy.
The person lending must have an asset, thats the money part. Then he can bargain in exchange, a shopkeeper giving credit needs goods in demand. He could write notes of credit and pass them out to pay his debts. Maybe in excess of his held stock but he is relying on demand for his goods. The debt by itself is paper thin, really its relying on his underlying business. 2015 right now we think debt is money because the USA issues all they want but they rely on its use by the world
Greece has the problem of debt not enough demand to exchange it to anything. Nobody wants their debt, they want the goods but they gave out too many notes promising goods they cant provide
 
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silversurfer said:
I believe we are going to reach the limits. In theory they can remove all coins as they become pointless worth etc. What happens is people use something more accurate, if they print money some hope they use bitcoin or more likely foreign currency.
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you've missed the question - if moeny is finite then what is the limit?
 
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elmarko said:
Spectacularly missing the point.

You could describe an item with an infinite weight in kilograms, I didn't say an infinite number of any measurement existed. Just that a unit of measurement in isolation isn't limited.

I'm referring to the basic maths of multiplying any figure infinite, not anything related to something that actually exists.
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you phrased it badly, what you actually stated previously was incorrect, yes you can consider an object of infinite mass...
 
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