Money/inflation relation

Without some form of money would there be anything we could refer to as inflation; could the concept even exist?

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Patriot96 · 56-60, C

Yes, 15 stalks of corn for one chicken. Last week it was 10

Really · 80-89, M

@Patriot96 That would only be inflation/deflatiion if the community had established that a chicken had the same value as 15 corn stalks, but it was now decided that it would be only 5. (To the chicken farmer that would be deflation - oh wait, did I get that the wrong way round?) The modern concept of inflation can't accomodate bartering between individuals.

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

@Really @Patriot96 But bartering -- be it exchange of goods & services, or artificial monetary equivalencies -- is still based on perceived values, which stem largely from supply and demand.

Really · 80-89, M

@dancingtongueBarter takes place at the level of individuals who decide for themselves what the relative values are, of the goods exchanged. To me the concept of inflation presupposes values/costs experienced by a whole society or group.

I still say the basic cause is greed :). There is no physical law that says you must charge more for something just because you can or because it's scarce; but that's what everybody does according to the so called 'law' of supply & demand.

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

@Really Look at it from the obverse side: why would anymore pay more, or give up more in barter, if there was an abundant supply of what they want?

Really · 80-89, M

@dancingtongue Sorry, I don't see how this applies to what I've been saying. We seem to be looking at different pictures?

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

@Really My point exactly. You are looking solely, or mostly, at greed and money as being the cause of inflation. Without negating that that plays a factor, I am pointing out that whether you are paying in money or bartering something you have a surplus of, you are going to be willing to give more of it if it is scarce supply and you really want it. And vice versa.

Really · 80-89, M

@dancingtongue

you are going to be willing to give more of it if it is scarce supply and you really want it

Not necessarily. I may want something quite badly but still be willing to walk away from a too-high demand for goods in return. There is also no compulsion on the other party, to scale their demand in proportion to the scarcity of what they offer - even though we know that in most cases that's what humans will do.

I think the trouble with this discussion - for me - is that I'm pondering an imaginary, idealized situation (no currency, but individual bartering); while most of the responses are about actual, observed human 'nature.'