My all-around awesome professor enticed our class to explore the idea of a different type of plant product as currency. There are many things that could be used and ideas started synapsing in my mind all at once. There are so many options for different types of currency, ostrich eggs, works of art, and tapestry rugs. However, with the stipulation of the currency being a plant product the list decreases dramatically. You could choose anything from a rare type of daisy to bamboo chips with intricate designs. But another stipulation is that it must work in an American economy. In the end the product that I chose was books.
Books would provide a good currency because they have social worth. They contain knowledge and can have a reverence that accumulates with age. E. Bronte would be worth more than L.K. Hamilton. With the increase of deforestation and technology there is a possible decrease in the sheer amount of books being produced although there is no proof that leads to this conclusion as of yet. Kindles and iPads are becoming more and more popular and with that popularity I presume that books will decrease in production.
In my theoretical America, books would become more valuable with age and renown. The amount of books that are in an owner's possession the more revered he or she would be. Each home would be a separate library containing a wealth of information. For newer books there are handy prices on the back cover. A twenty dollar book can buy about five high-priced mangoes.
I would be happy with this type of currency because I love to read and collect books. To have a system based on my favorite past time would be agreeable to me. This would also promote the spread of knowledge and increase the intelligence of America.
Through this blog I have shown that books, when paper finally becomes unable to be manufactured, would make an acceptable form of tangible currency. If put in this position, books would promote learning and with the cost printed on the back of book it would give a starting price, but as books age they would be worth more.
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