Now my concern here is not with the points at issue as between Fisher and Seager: the "impatience" vs. the "productivity" theories of interest. For the present, I shall accept Fisher's doctrine on that point as true.[342] I am here interested in Fisher's doctrine that a doubling of the general productivity of capital would double, or more than double, the prices of capital instruments, including land. How is such a general rise in prices possible, if the quantity theory be true? Is not this a rise in general prices from causes outside the equation of exchange? That Fisher means the _money-prices_ of capital goods when he speaks of capital-values is perfectly clear. In the second quotation, he speaks of "capital-value of $40,000", and in general, his definition of value runs in terms of _price_ (_e. g., Purchasing Power of Money,_ pp. 3-4, and _Elementary Principles_, p. 17). Fisher has no absolute value concept in his system. We have in the passages cited two doctrines, both of which contradict the quantity theory: (1) that a reduction in the rate of interest will raise capital-prices (which are the largest factor by far in the price-level), and (2) that an increase in the product of capital goods means, not only more money paid for the products, but also more money paid for the production-goods. Incidentally, the general imputation theory would call for more money paid to laborers as well. How can all this be, on the quantity theory? And what can the poor equation of exchange do in such a case, if money does not increase, if bank-credit is limited by money, if velocities of circulation are fixed by individual habits and convenience, if trade _increases_ as a consequence of the increased number of goods produced, and if prices rise? It will not help much to assume that the productivity of gold mines is doubled also. The quantity of money does not depend very much on the annual production of gold. Besides, money need not, from the standpoint of the quantity theory, be made of gold. It might be irredeemable Greenbacks, fixed in quantity by law, or even dodo-bones! Would not the capitalization theory apply in the Greenback Period? I shall not try to solve the riddle. I am not responsible for it!
Technology Brief
The Value of Money — Part 161
2026-11-15 07:02:48 · Cedar Herald Index
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