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My late friend noted that it seems that we understand the value of something in that the cost of things does not change much when compared to how much gold would be needed for the purchase, but we fail completely to understand how fiat currency is manipulated and used to steal our labor and efforts away.
If I have no one to trade with, you don't need a means of exchange.
Currency doesn't exist for my sole use. I think the deserted island analogy isn't valid.
If the person who is alone on an island spends twenty years mining gold and stockpiling it, it is only wasted effort in the mind of someone else if he could not eventually trade that wealth with someone else. What you overlook is that there are some simple joys that come merely in the expenditure of effort without necessarily anyone else exchanging value for such. I take the example of one who enjoys gardening and caring for plants. It is unquestionably less efficient than the production of a professional farmer. Art is another such example. I would venture to say that nearly every human being has a hobby or diversion of some sort out of which they derive little or no pecuniary satisfaction yet which they would not give up because of the personal satisfaction they derive from such!
When we have an exchange, we come to an agreement about the value equivalency of some past effort. We may weight that value according to the sunk costs involved and assign some moderating factor as to the expediency of acquisition (or retention). We see such in the after-holiday sales of candy at the local supermarkets: they have gauged the stocking costs of maintaining the inventory past a given day to devalue the actual production cost. We also see consumers (often called "early adopters") willing to pay huge premiums for something that is "new" or "novel" regardless of its true value - for example in clothing (especially shoes) but also in technology with smartphones. Are these people universally foolish for paying premiums or foregoing revenue? I think the issue is nowhere as clear-cut as you contend.
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