Inducing and Exploiting the Growth of the Intrinsic Value, 2
(If those things were actually valuable, if the growth of their value were genuine, it would be different; consider for instance those things that elevate the intangible side of people and culture, such as art: these too are very important survival factors. So imagine a beautiful song whose value grows as its success expands: that would be a fair exchange as more and more people enjoy it. The theft is when there is no actual value.)
Let’s take Example Island: there live 100 people, and each of them produces 1 unit of wheat. This makes 100 units of wheat for 100 people: each individual owns a purchasing power of 1 unit of wheat, and each individual owns 1% of the total existing purchasing power. Then 1 individual owns a pebble beach with 1,000 pebbles in it, and finds a way to induce people to consider that 1 pebble is worth 1 unit of wheat. Now, according to the considerations of people, there exist 1,100 units of purchasing power: 100 units of wheat and 1,000 of pebbles. 99 people still own 1 unit (in wheat) of purchasing power, but now it represents 0.09% of the total existing purchasing power. 1 individual owns 1 unit (in wheat) plus 1,000 units (in pebbles), which amounts to 91% of the total existing purchasing power. 99 people now are the property of 1 individual.
Whatever the form of money or medium of payment or substitute for actual valuable product, who is the owner of its purchasing power the moment it gets born? THAT is THE question. That is not only the foundation on which the initial fraud is built, but the best possible foundation for all the ensuing frauds as well.
Because that initial fraud is just the beginning. Once one has the monopoly of an infertile medium of payment one goes along exploiting the situation by lending it at interest. Lending at interest an infertile medium of payment is suppressive because the loans will have to be repaid in the same medium of payment, and since it is infertile, where could the debtors ever take the additional units needed to pay the interest?
