第一編 貨幣的本質(zhì)
第五章 作為經(jīng)濟(jì)品的貨幣
章節(jié)大綱
一、貨幣既非生產(chǎn)品也非消費(fèi)品
Traditionally, economic goods were divided into consumption goods (what Menger called goods of the first order) and production goods (what Menger called goods of higher orders). Consumption goods directly satisfied human desires, whereas production goods only satisfied them indirectly. (For example, an apple might be a consumption good to a hungry man, while an apple seed would be a production good.) If we insist on a two-fold scheme, then money must be a production good, since it is clearly not a consumption good. Yet this is problematic too, because money is very different from other types of production goods.
傳統(tǒng)上，經(jīng)濟(jì)商品被分為消費(fèi)品（門格爾稱為初級(jí)商品）和生產(chǎn)品（門格爾稱為高階商品）。消費(fèi)品直接滿足人的欲望，而生產(chǎn)品只是間接滿足人的欲望。（例如，蘋果對(duì)饑餓的人來說可能是一種消費(fèi)品，而蘋果種子則是一種生產(chǎn)品。）如果我們堅(jiān)持這種二分法，那么貨幣必須是生產(chǎn)品，因?yàn)樗@然不是消費(fèi)品。然而，這也是有問題的，因?yàn)樨泿排c其它類型的生產(chǎn)商品有很大不同。
A solution is to adopt a three-fold system, consisting of consumption goods, production goods, and media of exchange. This makes sense, because money is not a “commercial tool” in the same way that account books are. Although in a certain sense money “facilitates commerce” just as boats and railroads do, they differ in a crucial way: Increasing the supply of money does not make the community richer, whereas having more boats, railroads, and other production goods allows for the greater satisfaction of human desires. This is why money should be classified in a separate category, namely media of exchange.
解決方案是采用三分法，包括消費(fèi)品，生產(chǎn)品和交易媒介。 這是有道理的，因?yàn)樨泿挪幌褓~簿那樣是一種“商業(yè)工具”。 雖然在某種意義上，貨幣“促進(jìn)商業(yè)活動(dòng)”，就像船和鐵路一樣，但它們?cè)谝粋€(gè)關(guān)鍵的方面有所不同：增加貨幣供應(yīng)并不能使社區(qū)更富裕，而擁有更多的船、鐵路和其它生產(chǎn)品則可以使人的欲望得到更大的滿足。這就是為什么貨幣應(yīng)該被分為一個(gè)單獨(dú)的類別，即交易媒介。
二、作為私人資本一部分的貨幣
Private capital can be defined as the aggregate of the products that serve as a means to the acquisition of goods. Money should clearly be included in this category, and in fact historically an interest-bearing sum of money was the starting point of the concept of “capital.”
私人資本可以定義為作為購(gòu)買商品手段的產(chǎn)品的總和。貨幣應(yīng)該明確地包含在這一類別中。事實(shí)上，從歷史上看，有息貨幣是“資本”概念的起點(diǎn)。
Over time, theorists realized that money was “barren” and did not directly yield its “fruits” the way physical seeds or human labor could. To explain why people would be willing to pay interest on money loans, we must recognize that money can be exchanged for other, productive goods. This observation reinforces the decision to classify money as a medium of exchange, rather than a production good: the only way to salvage the inclusion of money as a part of private capital, is to distinguish it from other production goods and recognize its special ability to be exchanged for them.
隨著時(shí)間的推移，理論家們意識(shí)到貨幣是“貧瘠的”，并沒有像物理種子或人類勞動(dòng)那樣直接產(chǎn)生“果實(shí)”。為了解釋為什么人們?cè)敢鉃樨泿刨J款支付利息，我們必須認(rèn)識(shí)到可以將貨幣換成其他生產(chǎn)性商品。這一觀察強(qiáng)化了將貨幣分類為交易媒介而不是生產(chǎn)品的決定：得以將貨幣納入私人資本的唯一方法是將其與其它生產(chǎn)品區(qū)分開來，并認(rèn)識(shí)到貨幣交換其它生產(chǎn)品的特殊能力。
三、不是社會(huì)資本一部分的貨幣
Social (or productive) capital can be defined as the aggregate of the products intended for employment in further production. If we deny that money is a production good, then obviously it cannot be a part of social (or productive) capital.
社會(huì)（或生產(chǎn)性）資本可以定義為用于進(jìn)一步生產(chǎn)的產(chǎn)品的總和。如果我們否認(rèn)貨幣是生產(chǎn)品，那么顯然它不能成為社會(huì)（或生產(chǎn)性）資本的一部分。
重要貢獻(xiàn)
Mises’s summaries of various debates (on whether money is a production good, or whether it is part of social capital) may strike some readers as difficult or even tedious. However, in these passages Mises demonstrates his command of the literature, but also he explains why he favors one view over another. At times Mises differs from Eugen von Bo?hm-Bawerk, the great pioneer in (what we now call) Austrian economics after Menger. The reader can see that Mises is not simply following in the path laid out by his predecessors in the Austrian tradition, but instead weighs the arguments by various thinkers, and builds the Misesian system with the strongest components of each.
米塞斯對(duì)各種辯論的總結(jié)（關(guān)于貨幣是否是生產(chǎn)品，或者它是否是社會(huì)資本的一部分）可能會(huì)使一些讀者感到困難甚至乏味。然而，在這些段落中，米塞斯展示了他對(duì)文學(xué)的掌控力，而且他也解釋了為什么他傾向于一種觀點(diǎn)而不是另一種觀點(diǎn)。米塞斯的觀點(diǎn)有時(shí)不同于歐根·馮·龐巴維克，他是門格爾之后（我們現(xiàn)在稱之為）奧地利經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)派的偉大先驅(qū)。讀者可以看到，米塞斯并不是簡(jiǎn)單地遵循他的前任在奧地利經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)派傳統(tǒng)中所建立的路徑，而是權(quán)衡各種思想家的論點(diǎn)，并結(jié)合每一種思想中最強(qiáng)大的部分構(gòu)建米塞斯體系。
As with his classification of money substitutes, credit money, etc., in this chapter Mises exercises great precision in defining his concepts and justifying his decisions. For the issues in this chapter, Mises tells the reader (p. 86) that the groundwork will be important for understanding the discussion of the equilibrium and money rates of interest, which will occur in part III of the book.
正如他對(duì)貨幣替代品，信用貨幣等的分類一樣，在本章中，米塞斯在定義他的概念和證明他的決定時(shí)運(yùn)用了非常精確的方法。對(duì)于本章中的問題，米塞斯告訴讀者（英文版第86頁(yè)），基礎(chǔ)工作對(duì)于理解本書第三部分中關(guān)于均衡和貨幣利率的討論非常重要。
新術(shù)語(yǔ)
Equilibrium rate of interest: The rate of interest corresponding to the true supplies of capital goods and consumer preferences for present versus future consumption. Also known as the natural rate of interest.
均衡利率：與當(dāng)前和未來消費(fèi)的資本品的真實(shí)供給和消費(fèi)者偏好相對(duì)應(yīng)的利率。也稱為自然利率。
Money rate of interest: The rate of interest determined in the marketplace for loans of money. (The money rate can deviate from the equilibrium [or natural] rate of interest, in a process that is explained in part 3 of the book.)
貨幣利率：市場(chǎng)上確定的貨幣貸款利率。（在本書第3部分中解釋的過程中，貨幣匯率可能偏離均衡[或自然]利率。）
Private capital: The aggregate of the products that serve as a means to the acquisition of goods.
私人資本：作為商品購(gòu)買手段的產(chǎn)品的總和。
Social (productive) capital: The aggregate of the products intended for employment in further production.
社會(huì)（生產(chǎn)性）資本：用于進(jìn)一步生產(chǎn)的產(chǎn)品的總和。
研究問題
What are the views of Roscher and Knies with respect to classifying money? (p. 79)
羅雪兒（Roscher）和克尼斯（Knies）對(duì)貨幣的分類有什么看法？ （英文版第79頁(yè)）What was Helfferich’s objection to those (like Knies) who wanted to deny that a monetary exchange was an act of production? (pp. 79–80)
對(duì)于那些想否認(rèn)貨幣兌換是生產(chǎn)行為的人（如Knies），赫弗里希（Helfferich）有什么反對(duì)意見？（英文版第79-80頁(yè)）Explain: “Money is obviously not a ‘commercial tool’ in the same sense as account books, exchange lists, the Stock Exchange, or the credit system.” (p. 83)
解釋：“貨幣顯然不是一種‘商業(yè)工具’，如賬簿、交易清單、證券交易所或信貸系統(tǒng)的功能那樣?！保ㄓ⑽陌娴?3頁(yè)）Explain:“Whereas the changes in the value of...production goods and consumption goods do not mitigate the loss or reduce the gain of satisfaction resulting from . . . changes in their quantity, ... changes in the value of money are accommodated in such a way to the demand for it that, despites increase or decreases in its quantity, the economic position of mankind remains the same.” (p. 85)
解釋：“鑒于生產(chǎn)品和消費(fèi)品價(jià)值的變化并不能減輕由貨幣數(shù)量變化產(chǎn)生的損失或獲得的滿足感減損，…貨幣價(jià)值的變化通過這樣一種方式適應(yīng)人們對(duì)貨幣的需求，即不管貨幣數(shù)量增加或減少，人類的經(jīng)濟(jì)地位保持不變。（英文版第85頁(yè)）What hindered the development of a scientific understanding of capital and interest? (pp. 88–89)
是什么阻礙了對(duì)資本和利益的科學(xué)認(rèn)識(shí)的發(fā)展？（英文版第88-89頁(yè)）
