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> The only thing that maintains the value of any asset (or currency) is the collective belief in that asset or currency. Put another way: there is an inescapable component of trust in every asset. This is false in the general case. An asset means a useful or valuable thing, person, or quality. If something is useful to me, such as food, hydration or shelter, trust is irrelevant. In fact, something can have value to me (perhaps even objective value), even if there are no other agents/persons. Even where there are other agents/humans, no trust in an asset is required in some cases. Suppose we all can independently verify the use and quality of something (we call this measurement). If that thing has some definite utility to us, the value each will assign may differ, but that thing's value is not dependent on the subjective valuation (Say a morsel contains 15 Joules and I can harvest 9 Joules and you 11 Joules, the value we each could assign differs, yours being greater than mine, but is objectively derived, being based not on trust nor subjectivity. Subjective meaning based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions). Granted, we can not preclude the possibility that someone, somewhere providing a subjective value to this thing, merely that somethings have value, potentially to many of us that is objective and intrinsic in and of the thing itself. Trust in every asset is, indeed, escapable. |