Counterfeiting Currency: Is it ethical?

[Little_Sticks]

Counterfeiting Currency: Is it ethical?

All scenarios/possibilities are welcome.

 

[Metamorphosis]

No. In theory you just stole from every person that possess that same currency.

 

[Little_Sticks]

No. In theory you just stole from every person that possess that same currency.

Exactly! In Theory! Now we have the motivation outlined!

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

No. In theory you just stole from every person that possess that same currency.

Don't forget that you are also stealing from everyone you give the currency too in order to "buy" things.

Yeah, it's unethical.

 

[Valiant]

I'm not a huge fan of money in any form but precious metals with a very stable value...
I see the problem with minting false coins with lead etc, but printing that paper money...
The banks just make up capital that isn't there, and that's what lets this parasitic abomination of a society survive.
With parasitic abominations, I mean the service economies that aren't producing anything much.

I'm actually all for counterfeiting money. If someone does it on a large enough scale, it will probably fuck everything up.
Hopefully, some day, stuff will be less insane. To you, i'm probably the one that sounds insane
Give it some thought.

 

[Spamtar]

I guess the Fed is unethical

 

[Phantonym]

No, it's not ethical. You think you get it for free? Wrong. One way or another, you will still "pay" for it like the people who work for their money (time, effort, health, etc. things you sacrifice to get money).

 

[disregard]

Couldn't be any less ethical than the ones in power that print money at their disposal.

 

[Valiant]

Couldn't be any less ethical than the ones in power that print money at their disposal.

That was what I was trying to relay. Thanks for saying it in comprehensible words without fluff

 

[ajblaise]

Counterfeiting is a thriving private enterprise. Free-market baby. Can't have big government telling us what we can and can't do with paper....

 

[Little_Sticks]

This is interesting. Most of you seem to believe that it is unethical. The main reason I wanted to make this thread is because I agree with all of you and find that any ethical consideration depends upon whether or not people follow the system and don't abuse its structure. If the system is corrupt then counterfeiting becomes a way to fight the system, but only if the person doesn't become corrupted by the power they obtain.

I guess it would be nice to hear what you think is corrupt about the system and what isn't. YourLocalJesus got the idea

I would share ideas, but I'm not sure where to start so I'm hoping someone will start this for me.

 

[Chunes]

No, it's not ethical. You think you get it for free? Wrong. One way or another, you will still "pay" for it like the people who work for their money (time, effort, health, etc. things you sacrifice to get money).

I think you have the right idea.

I'm going to go ahead and say that counterfeiting is at least justified, if not ethical. The risk matches the reward. (Most people trade their time for money; counterfeiters risk their freedom for it. Sounds fair to me. Especially considering the unjust nature of our monetary system.)

 

[Feops]

What? No. Never.

Currency only has value because the populance has confidence in its scarcity. It's used to represent a relative proportion of wealth. If you can just make an infinite amount then it doesn't represent that any more.

Yes the powers that be can "print money", but this doesn't actually generate more wealth so it's a balance. To an extent it's required to keep pace with inflation and population growth but runs risks when applied overmuch.

I'm actually all for counterfeiting money. If someone does it on a large enough scale, it will probably fuck everything up.
Hopefully, some day, stuff will be less insane. To you, i'm probably the one that sounds insane
Give it some thought.

"fucking everything up" to itself doesn't sound terribly sane unless you replace it with something better and the transition itself isn't overly crippling.

 

[cafe]

Not unless the Secret Service reimburses recipients of counterfeit money with real money.

 

[Haphazard]

If the system is corrupt, wouldn't it be better off to forego the fiat money and just trade things of value directly?

 

[Metamorphosis]

If the system is corrupt, wouldn't it be better off to forego the fiat money and just trade things of value directly?

Exactly what I was wondering.

 

[Zarathustra]

This is interesting. Most of you seem to believe that it is unethical. The main reason I wanted to make this thread is because I agree with all of you and find that any ethical consideration depends upon whether or not people follow the system and don't abuse its structure. If the system is corrupt then counterfeiting becomes a way to fight the system, but only if the person doesn't become corrupted by the power they obtain.

I guess it would be nice to hear what you think is corrupt about the system and what isn't. YourLocalJesus got the idea

I would share ideas, but I'm not sure where to start so I'm hoping someone will start this for me.

First of all, the question of whether the system is "corrupt" is not really able to be answered in an objective manner. What if it's partially corrupt, but for the most part runs relatively free of corruption and to the benefit of those willing to work hard under the system? Is that still "corrupt"? At what point does the degree of corruption in an economic system cause the system as a whole to be accurately deemed "corrupt"?

And at what degree of corruption does it become ethical to illegally debase the currency? And who determines that point?

And, even further, regardless of the amount of corruption, when one counterfeits, isn't one invariably taking advantage of and hurting those who legitimately labor under the system and depend on the integrity of the value of the currency for which they toil to purchase goods and services? How do you ever justify that transgression?

And even in some backhanded karmic, Socratic kinda way, don't you in some way hurt yourself by taking material gains from the system without actually putting in the hard work to earn those gains? I highly doubt such actions have ever or ever will end very well...

In no way is counterfeiting ever ethical (except possibly in the extreme circumstance in which the system is so fucking rife with corruption [like Zimbabwe or something], and such counterfeiting will somehow "break the system", which, in all reality, is extremely unlikely anyway, and has probably never been the true intention of any counterfeiter anywhere, anytime).

Simply said, counterfeiting is always wrong.

 

[Andy]

I'm not a huge fan of money in any form but precious metals with a very stable value...
I see the problem with minting false coins with lead etc, but printing that paper money...
The banks just make up capital that isn't there, and that's what lets this parasitic abomination of a society survive.
With parasitic abominations, I mean the service economies that aren't producing anything much.

I'm actually all for counterfeiting money. If someone does it on a large enough scale, it will probably fuck everything up.
Hopefully, some day, stuff will be less insane. To you, i'm probably the one that sounds insane
Give it some thought.

I've had thoughts that aren't entirely disimilar to what you are saying. In my case, I was more thinking of the way in which people confuse money and wealth. Money is the cash and little numbers in the banl balance. I use the term wealth to express material riches - food, buildings, oil, a nuclear power plant. Things that exist in a very real sense.

Money is supposed to be a representation of wealth, something that can be passed from person to person without having put up with the inconvieniance of swopping a million pigs for a submarine.

The trouble arrises when people start to think of money as being something in and of itself. By fiddling with exchange rates, interest and the like people create money out of nothing - but the amount of wealth in existance stays the same. It simply creates an illusion that with have more resources then we truely do. People than start to consume those resources faster then they can be replaced. Counterfeiting certainly helps that process along. Eventually, the truth pushes it ugly head through our comfy dream and the system collapses while it realigns itself with reality.

 

[Metamorphosis]

The trouble arrises when people start to think of money as being something in and of itself. By fiddling with exchange rates, interest and the like people create money out of nothing - but the amount of wealth in existance stays the same. It simply creates an illusion that with have more resources then we truely do. People than start to consume those resources faster then they can be replaced. Counterfeiting certainly helps that process along. Eventually, the truth pushes it ugly head through our comfy dream and the system collapses while it realigns itself with reality.

I don't think it would be accurate to say that they create money out of nothing. There is no static point to compare value to when it comes to exchanging anything. When one thing gains more value, something else is devalued in relation to it.

What makes money not something in and of itself?

 

[teslashock]

Counterfeiting is a thriving private enterprise. Free-market baby. Can't have big government telling us what we can and can't do with paper....

A hit-man business can probably be a pretty thriving enterprise too. Gooooooo capitalism!

(I suppose we should be decriminalizing littering as well.)