Pagina 281 de 734

Now that what connects men in such transactions is Demand, as

being some one thing, is shown by the fact that, when either one

does not want the other or neither want one another, they do not

exchange at all: whereas they do[19] when one wants what the

other man has, wine for instance, giving in return corn for

exportation.

And further, money is a kind of security to us in respect of

exchange at some future time (supposing that one wants nothing

now that we shall have it when we do): the theory of money being

that whenever one brings it one can receive commodities in

exchange: of course this too is liable to depreciation, for its

purchasing power is not always the same, but still it is of a

more permanent nature than the commodities it represents. And

this is the reason why all things should have a price set upon

them, because thus there may be exchange at any time, and if

exchange then dealing. So money, like a measure, making all

things commensurable equalises them: for if there was not

exchange there would not have been dealing, nor exchange if there

were not equality, nor equality if there were not the capacity of

being commensurate: it is impossible that things so greatly

different should be really commensurate, but we can approximate

sufficiently for all practical purposes in reference to Demand.