Argonath RPG - A World of its own
Argonath RPG Community => Speakerbox => World and local news => Topic started by: ~Legend~ on October 01, 2012, 12:15:07 am
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This is not something imminent from the news or media, nor is it a recent incident or movement.
This is something that I have thought about once in a while, and been thinking about more recently. You could say it is something of an idea, but I am pretty sure it's a thought that several people have already considered.
Some people say that "money keeps the world running". None of us can disagree with the fact that, in the 21st century, money is important in different ways: development, personal use and financial security to name a few.
Currency is the medium of exchange we use, and there's somewhere in the region of 150-200 different currencies being moved around the globe today.
With so many, it's not an easy thing trying to uniform each one. Bread might cost 10x in one country, while 150y in another, and it wouldn't make sense trying to sell or buy with the "wrong" currency. Exchange rates play a big role, trying to weigh up the value of each currency. It's fairly complex, to an extent, how all of it is sorted and how everything plays out.
I was thinking, would it not be simpler if everyone dealt in one currency? One uniform valued money that everyone across the world would be able to trade in, without worrying about exchange rates, imbalances or discrepancies on the global market. It's almost like a world language, but here everyone would share the same economic tongue, having the potential to break down political and socio-economic barriers.
Taking just our own virtual currency - the Argonath RPG Dollar (ARD) - for example, between each of the servers there are variations in value. 1k in SA:MP is not quite the same as 1k in VC:MP.
A unified currency system could solve many problems, looking at it that way. Products, goods could all be priced on a level balance. Companies could trade on a level playing field, employees paid similar rates globally. There is a "business currency" or a currency that is most commonly used for large trading purposes - the US Dollar (or the 'Federal Reserve Note', FRN). The Euro - which is perhaps the greatest example of currency union, having been adopted by almost a whole continent, is also widely used. In the past, the British Pound Sterling also commonly exchanged wallets and pockets (perhaps as a result of colonial prowess).
However, trying to pursue something like this, would it only bring masses of confusion - a logistical impossibility? Would it not work on such a large scale, who would control its making and management? If one superpower was at the heart of a great empire, it could impose its currency upon the several other states in its control, and a unified currency could take over from there. This "impossibility", would people argue that it could also be a loss of history or heritage; currency can be symbolic to a nation?
Further Notes, Reading
- Wikipedia: Currency union (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_union)
- msnbc: "What if the world all used the same currency?" (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30047877/ns/business-answer_desk/t/what-if-world-all-used-same-currency/)
- One Country: "Perspective: One world, one currency" (http://www.onecountry.org/e104/e10402as.htm)
- babypips.com "A world currency - Pros and cons and can it become a reality" (http://www.babypips.com/blogs/piponomics/a_world_currency_pros_and_cons.html)
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Well if the US Dollar was the worldwide currency then pretty much all the undeveloped countries' economy would crash
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Well if the US Dollar was the worldwide currency then pretty much all the undeveloped countries' economy would crash
Technically, it is.
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F**k that...
I'm fine with GB pound and my guess is every country would argue that it's their country's currency that the whole world should use.. :lol:
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^ Yeah, true.
It's like trying to decide upon a world language. In politics, aviation, business and other fields, it's most commonly English.
Language is maybe closer to people than the currency they deal in. People like money, but I don't know, do you ever get attached to the currency? :D
If a lot of the world decided to adopt a common currency it may end up being the US Dollar or the Euro, looking at its wide use.
Or maybe, to remove any kind of untold dominance by any nation a whole new currency would be created. Either way, both the Dollar and Euro would need changes in design and all... not sure how many would be keen on having the US stars or EU symbols everywhere.
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I thought the universal currency is gold, and a lot of things are relative to that.
(Not that I really care/ know about it, as long as I get a good deal from the exchange rate from GBP to holiday money).
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(http://www.ditari.com/foto/2011/12/Deutsche-Mark-pic.jpg)
Ten years ago this could get you everything in the world. Perhaps it is time to bring it back. :bow:
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could get you everything in the world.
Errr, a piano? Hmmmmm
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Hmm.. yeah.. it's a little weird...
I was watching something on Discovery a few months back. I remember them quoting a figure of several millions(?) of US bills being made every day... you wonder why, sometimes, and where it all goes, and how complex it must be on a world scale to monitor.
Guess that is why we see problems such as in Zimbabwe, where a newspaper cost $10 billion Zimbabwean dollars in 2008.
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Guess that is why we see problems such as in Zimbabwe, where a newspaper cost $10 billion Zimbabwean dollars in 2008.
It would be cheaper to paste money on your walls than to buy wallpaper then. :poke:
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Hmm.. yeah.. it's a little weird...
I was watching something on Discovery a few months back. I remember them quoting a figure of several millions(?) of US bills being made every day... you wonder why, sometimes, and where it all goes, and how complex it must be on a world scale to monitor.
Guess that is why we see problems such as in Zimbabwe, where a newspaper cost $10 billion Zimbabwean dollars in 2008.
They spend it on sticking their noses into other countrys business, for instance... The UK arrested some terrorists (In the UK) and the US instantly dived on them asking for them to be extradited to America, which they have been. :roll:
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It would be cheaper to paste money on your walls than to buy wallpaper then. :poke:
Yea, probably. >.<
One of the reasons that Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe's President) had his honourary British knighthood stripped by the queen was for "hyperinflation".
They spend it on sticking their noses into other countrys business, for instance... The UK arrested some terrorists (In the UK) and the US instantly dived on them asking for them to be extradited to America, which they have been. :roll:
Heh, world politics isn't always the safest place to stick anyone's nose into. :P
It's not "unsafe" as in violence, I'd say, but more because of international relations, agreements/disagreements, political conflicts.
Deciding who should take care of a criminal charge/investigation can be a bit vague at times.
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They spend it on sticking their noses into other countrys business, for instance... The UK arrested some terrorists (In the UK) and the US instantly dived on them asking for them to be extradited to America, which they have been. :roll:
More anti US posting. At least you're right about it this time though. But regardless this is not the place to discuss how much you hate USA.
Can someone inform me as to why a world currency would be so bad? I've heard from people it would be some terrible idea. I assume that if all the money is under one currency, whoever controls it can do pretty much whatever they want and cause so much financial trouble on a world-wide scale?
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Can someone inform me as to why a world currency would be so bad? I've heard from people it would be some terrible idea. I assume that if all the money is under one currency, whoever controls it can do pretty much whatever they want and cause so much financial trouble on a world-wide scale?
You can go quite in depth about the topic, but some of the points that I am aware of:
- People may see their currency as part of their culture, a national symbol and different levels of importance would be given to it. Some would not want to lose that.
- One currency can create a lot of questions and issues. Who should be in charge of it/monitoring it/overseeing it? Should it be a joint committee and plus, where would it be based and produced? Obviously, the easy answer might be to hand it over (or rather "share" the responsibilities of its production and management) between so called world powers such as those in N. America, Europe, Asia... but would that be fair? There would always be arguments and it would be a difficult feat to actually make it fully justified and fair, I feel. Not because we can't do it, but because it's almost an impossibility - there would always be some kind of compromise as not all aspects could be satisfied.
- If one nation became too powerful would the dominate this world currency and bid others to their will? Increasingly now, the world's an economic/political system.
- There could be a lot of disparity between wealth. You may have the richest and the poorest living side by side in terms of countries. Some may gain from it while others would suffer. It's a bit of an economic conundrum, and I'm sure things like inflation and recession would live on through media headlines.
- Organisationally, you'd look towards the United Nations, the IMF etc. as good starting points in establishing a world currency. But even then, it would be no easy task to make all the countries agree. There are few cases - if any - where people have agreed unanimously on a large scale. As it is, not everyone is part of world joint organisations or groups. Those that decide to stick out, would it have a backlash on them? How would the rest of the world accommodate them when it comes to trade, industry?
- You can look at existing models of "one currency". Take the Euro, used by a good part of the European continent (note: more so, the EU), it has shown both its weaknesses and strong points. At the moment, with many EU countries being harnessed by financial issues, the Euro is struggling, and there's a lot of debate about whether it has been a good thing for all those countries to adopt the currency. It could be said, that maybe, if one big national economy collapses all those reliant on it - and they would be really reliant on it if they shared currency - would also feel its impact. It would bring the currency down as a whole, and instead of affecting one, it could affects dozens.
- Political tensions never die?
Again, coming to a full agreement or decision would ultimately be hinged on the representatives/leaders of a nation. There would always be some form of tension, and a unified market system - as that is what this could lead towards - may not be accepted by all of the political systems.
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People who do not want to go for world wide integrity because "HURR, TRADITION CULTURE" are using fucking stupid logic. No offense to anyone else here, but this is just making things more complicated.
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Everybody wants a global system, but history has shown that it may just end up complicating things more.
All the countries tried to unite after WWII, what resulted was the cold war...
There have been many attempts to unite several things, problem is, not everybody will want to join. And unless every single country joins, its only gonna end up making a bigass mess..
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New World Order.
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Turning the global economy over to one single currency would lead to larger nations having to share with smaller ones. Earth isn't really known for 'sharing'. Not because we're bad, but because it's in our nature.
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You could look at it as counter-intuitive, and going against the idea of bringing the world together...
But, it depends whether currency should be considered a boundary or not. Is it merely a financial tool or more than that?
Even now the world isn't united or as united as it could be, and we don't know if ever there will be a time when there is "ultimate peace" or when everyone is in single mind. Before that maybe it would be a waste to even make efforts such as this.
Turning the global economy over to one single currency would lead to larger nations having to share with smaller ones. Earth isn't really known for 'sharing'. Not because we're bad, but because it's in our nature.
I think you're right.
The predecessor of the United Nations was the League of Nations.
During its set up one thing that the major powers at the time (USA, France, Britain) felt at the time was if they pledged their support/allegiance, from the off they would be relied upon by other nations, and may have to use their resources for the benefit of those around them. Putting it like that, it does make them sound "selfish", but it's not actually so... as all countries would consider their resources precious and would find little need to help out others by providing military or financial support.
New World Order.
The solution? :D
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After the second WW the USA 'tried' to be caring and sharing.. Sadly this led to capitalist blackmail.
They deployed the "Marshall plan" which aimed to aid countries struck and wounded by the Germans.
They helped clean up and rebuild cities, they gave financial and military support.
On the other hand they used the Marshallplan as some kind of figurative hostage, threating The Netherlands to pull back the aid if they'd not participate in the Korean war for the fight against communism.
See it as giving candy to a child, telling it to walk into traffic and if it refuses, take the candy back. Not exactly ofcourse, but you get my point.
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After the second WW the USA 'tried' to be caring and sharing.. Sadly this led to capitalist blackmail.
They deployed the "Marshall plan" which aimed to aid countries struck and wounded by the Germans.
They helped clean up and rebuild cities, they gave financial and military support.
On the other hand they used the Marshallplan as some kind of figurative hostage, threating The Netherlands to pull back the aid if they'd not participate in the Korean war for the fight against communism.
See it as giving candy to a child, telling it to walk into traffic and if it refuses, take the candy back. Not exactly ofcourse, but you get my point.
If anyone remembers, the reparations forced upon the Germans and others on the losing side after WWI were massive.
At one point, seeing the nations' people struggle - poverty, hunger... - some of world powers did offer financial support, but a few years after (when things started heading the wrong way again) this money was apparently asked to be returned.
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If anyone remembers, the reparations forced upon the Germans and others on the losing side after WWI were massive.
At one point, seeing the nations' people struggle - poverty, hunger... - some of world powers did offer financial support, but a few years after (when things started heading the wrong way again) this money was apparently asked to be returned.
The Marshallplan helped the majority of Europe a LOT, made sure the future would be bright. USA used this as leverage for an international trading position.
But also giving themselves authority to order countries who to tolerate and not. Enforcing the Truman doctrine in this case.
Germany obviously did not get a lot of financial support, which is also a reason why Hitler could claim such a huge amount of support from the population. Acting as a great leader, pointing out the 'bad guys', the ones who ruined Germany's structure, the ones who are to blame for all the suffering and poverty, the jews. This anger focussed on a scapegoat was the reason why Hitler could perform his plans of increasing Germany's living space and eventually starting a world war.
What if international nations did support Germany's population and helped rebuild the broken country, instead of cutting it off. Would that form of sharing and caring have prevented the war?
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US Dollar is the global currency, don't you know? :money:
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US Dollar is the global currency, don't you know? :money:
No, country's have just made their own versions, like Australian Dollar and so on..
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US Dollar is the global currency, don't you know? :money:
It is accepted in more countries as currency than most, but still not "global" as not every country recognizes the US Dollar as a legal note.
When I think of global currency, I agree with JCS its a barter trade. Things like gold, silver, and virtually any other item of trade value. Barter trade was used in the older days as the only form of currency for example trading 1 sheep for 1 cow etc.
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It would make sense to trade on something that is common everywhere... be it gold, silver or a cow. :P
A dollar, pound or euro are all just words that may come associated with bits of metal or paper, really.
The Marshallplan helped the majority of Europe a LOT, made sure the future would be bright. USA used this as leverage for an international trading position.
But also giving themselves authority to order countries who to tolerate and not. Enforcing the Truman doctrine in this case.
Germany obviously did not get a lot of financial support, which is also a reason why Hitler could claim such a huge amount of support from the population. Acting as a great leader, pointing out the 'bad guys', the ones who ruined Germany's structure, the ones who are to blame for all the suffering and poverty, the jews. This anger focussed on a scapegoat was the reason why Hitler could perform his plans of increasing Germany's living space and eventually starting a world war.
What if international nations did support Germany's population and helped rebuild the broken country, instead of cutting it off. Would that form of sharing and caring have prevented the war?
Apparently during the Treaty of Versailles after WWI and when the reparations were forced upon the losing nations, some of the key figures involved (the victors) had said that the charges on Germany were so severe that they would only rise up in 20 years or so to seek revenge.
They weren't wrong.
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Apparently during the Treaty of Versailles after WWI and when the reparations were forced upon the losing nations, some of the key figures involved (the victors) had said that the charges on Germany were so severe that they would only rise up in 20 years or so to seek revenge.
They weren't wrong.
Yeah, never piss off Germany, that's a valuable lesson we've learned the hard way. :lol:
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Stay away from Litas, barbarians :@
(http://www.infozinios.lt/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/litai_pinigai.jpg)