@neonsnake @violetmadder @CorvidCrone @KevinCarson1 @C4SS
Yes, in the US.
In the context of contemporary manifestations of currency and property, it's the guarantee of the State - e.g. the guarantee that contracts/debts/deeds will be enforced through overwhelming violence, ostensibly according to law of some kind - that underwrites them.
I use "guns" broadly;
@neonsnake @violetmadder @CorvidCrone @KevinCarson1 @C4SS
police and prisons are the "guns" of the State. Militaries are "guns". In many countries, people are allowed to simply shoot you if you're "on their property".
"Murder?! What murder!?! They were on mah LAND!"
(which is wild, tbh)
@neonsnake @violetmadder @CorvidCrone @KevinCarson1 @C4SS
But I think while you and I probably agree on substance, there's a real distinction being explored here: if you aren't willing to enforce your ownership of your "property" with violence, then what does "property" even mean? That you have a right to be there? That others do not? That others do not have the right to supplant you?
You were "there first"? 🤷♂️ It's hard.
As for currency, "units of exchange" and "currency" are different...
@neonsnake @violetmadder @CorvidCrone @KevinCarson1 @C4SS
...because currency is a unit of exchange, but not all units of exchange are currencies. Because the reason a currency has value is that it's backed by a treasury, which exists bc of a guarantee of violence
Which means that in practice, currencies are a unit of violence that we exchange, and their value is commensurate with the potential violence behind them
Which really puts a whole new spin on the idea of capital and capitalism, tbh
@johnzajac
you may find this paper extremely interesting
https://capitalaspower.com/2021/05/cherizola-from-commodities-to-assets/
one of the great papers in economic theory I believe
From Commodities to Assets Capital as Power and the Ontology of Finance JESÚS SUASTE CHERIZOLA May 2021 Abstract Assets are a crucial concept of the practice and mindset of the capitalist class. Critical analyses of capitalism, however, tend to admit that the exchange of commodities is the foundation of the analysis of capitalism. This article […]
John
Daniel Lakeland