Compared to the era of a self-sufficient barter economy, everyone’s happiness is greater in the exchange economy, where each person divides their labor into what they do best and exchanges what they produce. This is because the division of labor is more efficient than self-sufficiency in productivity and can further reduce production costs. At this point, a means of exchange agreed upon by society is required, which is called money (currency). In other words, in the exchange economy, specialists who excel in one field are more advantageous for survival than ordinary people. An all-round player is more likely to face starvation. Therefore, a generalist is only advantageous for survival when they can organically integrate their diverse abilities in a specific field or situation, while also managing and restricting the scope of their activities and conditions. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
If the price of bread is one dollar, it signifies that the bread has a monetary value of approximately one dollar. Conversely, this indicates that one dollar represents the intrinsic value of the goods associated with the bread. In other words, the values of money and bread (goods) are established through mutual comparison, which also implies that they do not exist independently in the world, as they are assigned absolute values from the moment of their existence. If only comparison can be made, value can be assessed regardless of whether the comparison is mandatory or voluntary, allowing the value to be expressed as a price, which is its monetary value. This suggests that there is no absolute value in the economy, only relative value , and that all values constructed through comparison are subject to fluctuations in price . Consequently, wealth involves the act of preserving or augmenting this relative value while continually exchanging for other goods as a legitimate act of trad...