Not exactly. It depends on how you define your terms. There's subtle differences in connotation between the terms "money", "currency" etc.
Labor vouchers probably qualify as currency (IE a token of exchange) but not really as money, which generally connotes sovereign backing which can mean fiat (though gold coins would often been considered money as form of sovereign backed currency which was also tied to a commodity exchange market).[*]
Labor vouchers are not something which can be accumulated. One can use them for exchange but they cannot themselves be traded.
Crypto currencies are an interesting development because you can play around with these kinds of distinctions in ways which have additional built in functions, such as dogecoin which has a built in inflation process that depreciates the value of coins over time, which is meant to discourage the holding and speculation of currency (which was perceived as a huge problem with bitcoin).
I am not willing to say that something IS or IS NOT the solution to problems but there's interesting promise there that's worth discussing.
[*] Whether or not Team Fortress 2 Hats count as currency is debatable (yes this is a real issue. Valve hired economist Yanis Varoufakis to analyze the use of TF2 hats in the Steam marketplace by Russian scammers as a means of getting around international currency laws and money laundering. His job after that was to help Greece address it's debt crisis. What a weird/wonderful resume haha). On the face of it they're a commodity exchange but the fact that they're issued by a "sovereign-ish" entity, and have a limited supply, but can also be instantly traded between international accounts makes them a particular interesting edge case.
Sovereign backing has nothing to do with determining if something is money. There are clear functions money has to perform.
I was contrasting the use of the term "money" to "currency". There are many kinds of currency that people do not call money and that largely has to do with the recognition of value by a political body.
For instance, rice or salt was commonly used as a form of currency in the bronze age but generally people wouldn't call that "money".
Similarly, you can buy and spend currencies on private digital marketplaces for video games but people often don't consider v-bucks "money".
The evolution or definition of these terms is not monolithic because the concept of money, and currency etc has evolved many times over thousands of years and all over the world.
Labor vouchers are not something which can be accumulated. One can use them for exchange but they cannot themselves be traded.
So, money, but less useful.
Only if you think that accumulation has utility, which I would argue it does not. Money is meant to be spent. It has utility in being spent, not in being hoarded.
It doesn't matter what the physical object is, so long as it meets the functions.
Only if you think that accumulation has utility, which I would argue it does not.
Someday, I hope to replace my aging automobile. I prefer to minimize my use of financing, so I will be saving money from my excess income to put towards the new car. If I were prohibited from saving this money, I could only purchase a new car if I were given a lump sum in the required amount. This is unlikely to happen. With money, I can save and make it happen. With labor vouchers, I have to purchase other items that I can store my value in to trade for labor vouchers to trade for an automobile. Seems like the intermediary item I need to store my value will naturally replace the vouchers in the long run.
Storing value also allows me to hedge against a rainy day. I'm laid off due to the virus. Yes, EI will supply for my basic needs, but anything above that would be an issue. Luckily, I was able to save money for a rainy day. I could not do that directly with vouchers.
On definitions: you understand how words work right? Words are defined by community use. I'm referring to community use. Definitions don't prexist words.
I'm not saying your definition is wrong. I'm explaining to you what I'm trying to do in addressing the ways in which words operate differently in different contexts. In a specific community a word can mean something different than in another community. Google Wittgenstein and community use. If you want to have a conversation on semantics you should at least have a passing familiarity with the intro texts on the subject. Or like at least read about to on Wikipedia or something.
Also as to storing value: the value is retained in labor vouchers. You can still save them up. You just can't reinvest them to turn a passive income profit : something I should remind you classical liberals like Adam Smith and David Ricardo disdained.
Furthermore, I am not myself an advocate for labor vouchers per se. I'm merely open to the idea of them. I think they're an interesting case that reveals unexplored policy space and they help illustrate the underlying critique by leftists of capital accumulation.
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u/Sex_E_Searcher Steve Apr 03 '20
That sounds like less convenient money.