actualsamharris:iamtheaardvark:aboutreciprocation:…holy shitNone of the characters ever figure this
actualsamharris:iamtheaardvark:aboutreciprocation:…holy shitNone of the characters ever figure this out because they stop taking math at age 11Alllllll right. Let’s get into why this post is wrong on two points: 1. Wizard/Goblin Relations, and 2. Monetary Policy.First, the simpler of the two, Wizard/Goblin Relations: The Gringotts Goblins are exceptionally suspicious of wizards. We see this throughout the entirety of the books: Goblins don’t trust wizards because wizards have spent centuries constricting their magical abilities (e.g., not allowing goblins to use wands), by relegating them to certain parts of the labor market (e.g., banking), and by treating them like second (or third) class citizens. Wizards and goblins have different cultures and different ideas about ownership, and this, among other things, I imagine, have led to centuries of war and distrust between the two groups. So, if a wizard were to walk into a bank (Gringotts, or any other central bank), the Goblins are likely not to trust this wizard. Sure, Gringotts as an institution employs wizards in curse-breaking capacities and treasure hunting capacities, but it has been referenced that Goblins are the ones who physically mint currency, and, because this is likely done through a magical process Goblins would be unwilling to share with wizards, can only be done by a Goblin. All of this is to say: GOBLINS ARE NOT GOING TO TRUST A RANDO WIZARD WHO WALKS INTO GRINGOTTS AND JUST MAKE THEM SOME GOLD. THAT IS NOT HOW THE TWO COMMUNITIES WORK TOGETHER.Now, onto the more fun part of this, Monetary Policy (and here I am going to get even more shout-y because I’ve had some coffee and I am having fun): CENTRAL BANKS TIGHTLY MONITOR AND CONTROL THE AMOUNT OF CURRENCY IN THEIR MARKET SO THAT ECONOMIC EFFECTS LIKE INFLATION CAN BE MEASURED AND (hopefully) COUNTERACTED). A central bank is not going to just make more money because some asshole on the street comes up to them and asks them to make them some currency. THAT IS NOT HOW THE WORLD GOD DAMN WORKS. Sure, central banks do, sometimes, use their power to create more currency in the market to provide stimulus to an economy, when it is appropriate. But not when someone says: Hey, *money please* (said in a Mona-Lisa Saperstein voice). Central Banks use their power of the purse (in theory) only when it is economically appropriately to do so…and even when they make mistakes, they still have some underlying theoretical reason, and not because some rando walks in and demands in…especially not a wizard.Okay. Your move.This is what happens when you send a funny Harry Potter post to your friend who literally wrote his thesis about wizarding economics. -- source link