The Closed Commercial State

Fifth Chapter: Continuation of the preceding considerations

Fifth Chapter Continuation of the preceding considerations The assertion that a state, having dared remove itself from all commerce with foreign lands, will have no need of silver and gold, and can make whatever it wishes into a universal sign of all value, seems to me so clear, and to lie so near to everyone’s feet, {490} that I cannot make myself believe that I have thus said something paradoxical or astonishing. Yet I know that men usually discover last of all precisely what is nearest to their feet. And I also know that the heads of some are organized in such a way that conclusions, which should properly always rest on the root of their premises, drive down their own roots through mere force of habit, and continue to exist long after the premises have been extirpated. Thus, I must still fear having offended some readers, and find it advisable to say yet a few more words for their sake, while urging all those who have not found anything astonishing in the previous chapter to skip over the present discussion. Hopefully none of my readers will deny that, with regard to money, the only concern of anyone is that this particular piece of money is accepted again by everyone with whom he trades at the same value for which he obtained it. Now, in the present circumstances, it is possible for us to engage in commerce, either indirectly or directly, with every resident of the known European commercial republic. Hence, in these circumstances, it is of course necessary that we have that sign of value which is accepted by everyone. Yet if we are relieved of this possibility, we will also without doubt be relieved of the need [125] that results from it. Whoever guarantees to us that from now on, in matters of money, we will only have to deal with our govern‑ ment and our fellow citizens, certainly relieves us of having to care about having other forms of money than those which these accept. It is no longer a question of what the foreigner accepts, since I will never have to trade with him.—If I must travel to the Society Isles, and know beforehand that over there one will only let me have food in exchange for red feathers, then I would of course do well to procure red feathers. If I don’t want to travel 179 180 Third Book there, what use are these red feathers for me? Likewise, if I have to engage in commercial transactions {491} in a place where only gold and silver are accepted, I must of course get my hands on the latter. If, however, I don’t have to engage in commerce there, but only at places where these are not accepted, what use will I have for gold and silver?—Although a number of governments have closed themselves off to foreign trade as best they could, and it is only to their detriment that they could not do an even better job of it, they have continued to consider themselves, even in relation to their own subjects, as free members of the great commercial state, and indeed so much so that they even pay their citizens with the same world currency that they collect from them as taxes in the course of the year, while at the same time worrying and fretting about not having more of this world cur‑ rency. And princes, in times past, have sought to make gold, not thinking that, without making actual gold, they could simply give out anything that came into their hands in its place. The only reason for this sort of astonishment, therefore, is habituation to the circumstances that are to be eliminated. Another reason for fear could arise from confusing the sign of value proposed by us with another similar yet in no way equivalent sign of value— confusing it with the paper and leather‑money, banknotes, assignates, and the like that have been attempted from time to time in nearly every state. Someone might say: one knows from the most frequent experience that, save under special conditions that we will not find in a state that is closing itself off, this kind of money always tends to lose value in relation to gold and silver, sinking deeper and deeper, just as in many cases it ultimately becomes worthless, with those who possess it losing their property.—My reply to this is that all these previous...