JANUARY 17
Divisibility
Making Every Transaction Possible
The Signal
Good money should work just as well for life’s smallest purchases as it does for its greatest investments.
The Reading
Imagine trying to buy a loaf of bread with a house. The house may be valuable, but you cannot cut off the kitchen and hand it to the baker as payment.
Now imagine paying with a one-kilogram bar of gold. It holds enormous value, but unless it can be divided accurately, even a simple purchase becomes difficult.
Throughout history, people have needed money that works at every scale. From the smallest daily purchases to the largest investments, money must be divided without destroying its value. Good money adapts to the size of the transaction. Whether buying a meal, paying a week’s wages or purchasing a family home, the same money should work just as effectively.
The easier money is to divide without losing value, the more useful it becomes.
First Principles
Good money should work across every size of transaction.
Divisibility allows value to be exchanged fairly without being destroyed.
The more easily money can be divided, the more useful it becomes.
Today’s Challenge
Imagine you wake up tomorrow to discover that every dollar in the world has disappeared.
Only one object remains that everyone must now use as money.
You get to choose what that object is.
Before you decide, answer these questions.
How would a child buy a packet of lollies?
How would a family buy a home?
How would a farmer sell half a harvest?
How would an employer pay someone for just one hour of work?
Choose carefully.
Could your new money handle every one of those transactions fairly?
Tomorrow’s Signal
Recognisability