On the Classification of Monetary Forms, Their Ontological Foundation, and the Design Principles of Economic Institutions/货币的形态分类和存在基础及经济制度的设计原则

Preamble I. What Problem Does This Paper Address? A: As the title indicates, this paper studies the classification of monetary forms and why money exists in the first place. Specifically:① How many forms does money take, and what are the essential distinctions among them? For instance, what is the fundamental difference between the fiat money we use today (such as the US dollar or the renminbi) and the coins used by the ancient Romans and Greeks?② What is the ontological foundation of money? Why does money exist, and upon what does it rest?③ What are the general principles and first principles of economic institutional design? Why did Hoover fail to save the Great Depression, while Roosevelt succeeded?This paper attempts to answer these questions in turn. II. Why Does This Paper Study These Problems? A: Economics is a remarkable discipline. It has made tremendous contributions to human life, guiding production and promoting social prosperity throughout history. Yet shadows hang over the edifice of economics. For example, if the efficacy of fiat money derives from national sovereign credit, then why, during the collapse of the German mark in 1923, did the central bank, the military, and the government remain intact, yet prove unable to contain hyperinflation? In extreme situations, economics falters in explanatory power; it cannot perfectly answer questions about the human economic system at moments of crisis. Standing on the shoulders of predecessors, this paper attempts to expand the scope of economics' applicability, explain these extreme cases, and dispel some of the shadows hanging over the edifice of economics. III. What Scientific Method Does This Paper Employ? A:① The foundational hypothesis of this paper is not built upon the scarcity assumption commonly used in economics, but upon individual finitude. A single person cannot master all knowledge, complete all divisions of labor, or ensure the transmission of knowledge and skills; therefore, he necessarily depends on other subjects in society. Consequently, this paper redefines man as the communal rational game subject (CRGS)—an independent decision-making unit that is neither omniscient nor omnipotent and is attached to a group-based division of knowledge. Moreover, different individuals and different subjects in the market possess no telepathic connection; information is inherently asymmetric. ② The research method focuses primarily on a priori logical deduction and literature review, establishing logical premises that cannot be circumvented or avoided. These premises are combined with concrete economic common sense for logical deduction and derivation, and then explained and analyzed through concrete historical cases. ③ Economics still exhibits pre-scientific characteristics within the contemporary system of sciences: its various schools of thought operate with incommensurable hypotheses, leaving them mutually irreducible and talking past one another, lacking a common axiomatic platform for deduction. This paper seeks to axiomatize economics. Building upon the work of predecessors, it aims to lay a framework and foundation for economic discourse, taking the unavoidable aspects of money as premises for discussion, subjecting them to logical argumentation and the exclusion of exceptions, and ultimately converging upon a concise structure analogous to Newtonian mechanics, thereby providing economics with a platform for discussion. Reading Guide This work employs a hierarchical axiomatic numbering system. The reader is advised to proceed sequentially through the tiers: from ontology to axioms, and from axioms to their corollaries. I. Ontology x.0 (e.g., 1.0, 2.0, 3.0): Establishes the fundamental categories of existence and interaction for rational game subjects, serving as the premise for the entire system. x.0.z (e.g., 1.0.1, 2.0.1, 2.0.3): Elaborations on the ontology, explaining why it constitutes an irreducible logical starting point. II. Axioms x.y (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3): The axioms subordinate to their corresponding ontology; self-evident and constituting the bedrock of logic. III. Elaboration & Corollary x.y.z (e.g., 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.3.1, 2.3.3): Expositions, proofs, and deductions of the axioms, demonstrating their logical necessity and illustrating applications in specific contexts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHINESE veision 序言:Ⅰ本文研究了什么问题? A:正如标题所言,本文主要研究货币的形态分类和货币究竟为什么会存在,主要研究①货币有几种形态和各形态之间的本质区别就比如说我们现在所使用的法定货币,那美元人民币这样的货币和古罗马人和古希腊人用的硬币有什么区别?②货币的存在基础是什么?货币为什么存在?又依托什么存在?③经济制度设计的一般性原则和第一性原理是什么?为什么胡佛没有拯救大萧条,而罗斯福拯救了大萧条?本文尝试对这些问题一一进行解答 Ⅱ:本文为什么要研究这些问题? A:经济学是一门了不起的学科,为解决人类生活,指导人类生产,促进社会繁荣,在过往的历史中做出了巨大的贡献。然而,经济学的大厦之上还有不少的阴霾。就比如说,如果法定货币,效力来自于国家主权信用,那么为什么1923年德国马克崩溃时候,德国的央行,军队,政府并没有消失,为什么就遏制不住恶性通货膨胀,经济学在一些极端情况下解释力不佳无法完美解答这些危机时刻人类经济体系的问题,本文尝试站在前人的基础上扩展经济学的适应范围,解释这些极端情况,拨开经济学大厦上的一些阴霾。 Ⅲ:本文采用的科学方法是什么? A:①本文的假设基础不建立在经济学常用的稀缺性假设上,而是建立在个体有限性上,就一个人不能掌握所有的知识,完成所有的分工,实现知识和技能的传承,所以必必然依赖于社会中的其他主题 ②本文采用的研究方法主要聚焦在先验逻辑演绎和文献综述上,确立一些无法规避,无法绕开的逻辑前提。结合经济学的具体常识进行逻辑演绎和逻辑推导,再结合人类视力的具体案例进行分解释和分析 ③本文写作的科学目的是站在前人的基础上解决他经济学大厦头顶上的一些阴霾,补充人类经济学的常识和框架。 阅读提示 / Reading Guide 本文采用层级化公理编号体系。阅读当循序号层级,由本体而公理,由公理而推论,层层递进。 壹・本体论 / Ontologyx.0(如 1.0, 2.0, 3.0):确立理性博弈主体存在与互动之基本范畴,为全体系之前提。 x.0.z(如 1.0.1, 2.0.1, 2.0.3):对该本体论之阐释,阐明其为何构成不可化约之逻辑起点。 贰・公理 / Axioms x.y(如 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3):对应本体论下之公理,不证自明,乃逻辑之基石。 叁・阐释与推论 / Elaboration & Corollary x.y.z(如 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.3.1, 2.3.3):对该公理之阐释、证明与推演,阐明其逻辑必然,并示具体情境之应用。