Changes

'''Money''' is defined as something which serves as a means of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of account and represents only an extremely small fraction of the real wealth of any given society or [[country]] where it is used.  

'''Money''' is defined as something which serves as a means of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of account and represents only an extremely small fraction of the real wealth of any given society or [[country]] where it is used.  

Money fundamentally represents a quanity of labor. [[Adam Smith]], writing in 1776, said "a quantity of labor is difficult for many people to understand," however anyone who has ever examined the number of hours on a paystub in the 21st century should have no problem grasping the concept. [[Aristotle]] said money is the unit of measure used to represent how many shoes a shoe cobbler must make to equal the labor of the carpenter who built his house.<ref>All prices are ratios, for example 1 gal. of gasoline that sells for $2.89, is expressed as 1:2.89, or a wage rate of $15 ''per'' hour would be 15:1.</ref> Money is a fiction used to express the exchangable value of equal quantities of labor.

Money fundamentally represents a quantity of labor. [[Adam Smith]], writing in 1776, said "a quantity of labor is difficult for many people to understand," however anyone who has ever examined the number of hours on a paystub in the 21st century should have no problem grasping the concept. [[Aristotle]] said money is the unit of measure used to represent how many shoes a shoe cobbler must make to equal the labor of the carpenter who built his house.<ref>All prices are ratios, for example 1 gal. of gasoline that sells for $2.89, is expressed as 1:2.89, or a wage rate of $15 ''per'' hour would be 15:1.</ref> Money is a fiction used to express the exchangeable value of equal quantities of labor.

A failure to understand what money is results in [[socialism]]. For example, Rep. [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] has proposed "free" healthcare, education, housing etc., essentially promoting the non-sensical idea that people have the right to consume goods and services that have not yet been produced by other people's labor. To implement such a system, which has been tried by various societies at times,<ref>e.g., [[USSR]], [[PRC]], [[North Korea]], [[Venezuela]], [[Cuba]], etc.</ref> results in one group of people performing labor for which, by law, they will not be paid, and another group [[entitlement|entitled]] to the benefit. In short, a [[slave]] system.

A failure to understand what money is results in [[socialism]]. For example, Rep. [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] has proposed "free" healthcare, education, housing etc., essentially promoting the non-sensical idea that people have the right to consume goods and services that have not yet been produced by other people's labor. To implement such a system, which has been tried by various societies at times,<ref>e.g., [[USSR]], [[PRC]], [[North Korea]], [[Venezuela]], [[Cuba]], etc.</ref> results in one group of people performing labor for which, by law, they will not be paid, and another group [[entitlement|entitled]] to the benefit. In short, a [[slave]] system.