There is really a huge amount wrong with this article.
For instance, fiat currency has been around for hundreds of years, it is not a 20th-century occurrence.
The French used assignats which were similar to our Federal Reserve Notes, the Chinese used small silk sheets the Empereor imprinted his seal onto, etc.
Even during the time of Thomas Jefferson there was the Continental currency, which crashed (as did all other fiat enterprises) rather spectacularly:
"The annihilation was so complete that barber-shops were papered in jest with the bills; and the sailors, on returning from their cruise, being paid off in bundles of this worthless money, had suits of clothes made of it, and with characteristic light-heartedness turned their loss into a frolic by parading through the streets in decayed finery which in its better days had passed for thousands of dollars."
Secondly, he claims that eBay's main purpose is to allow for trade in collectible items. While I am sure there are many sales of Beanie Babies online, he quotes no sources to lend support to that argument. Myself, I have only ever bought computer equipment from eBay...
For instance, fiat currency has been around for hundreds of years, it is not a 20th-century occurrence.
The French used assignats which were similar to our Federal Reserve Notes, the Chinese used small silk sheets the Empereor imprinted his seal onto, etc.
Even during the time of Thomas Jefferson there was the Continental currency, which crashed (as did all other fiat enterprises) rather spectacularly:
"The annihilation was so complete that barber-shops were papered in jest with the bills; and the sailors, on returning from their cruise, being paid off in bundles of this worthless money, had suits of clothes made of it, and with characteristic light-heartedness turned their loss into a frolic by parading through the streets in decayed finery which in its better days had passed for thousands of dollars."
Secondly, he claims that eBay's main purpose is to allow for trade in collectible items. While I am sure there are many sales of Beanie Babies online, he quotes no sources to lend support to that argument. Myself, I have only ever bought computer equipment from eBay...