第一编 货币的本质
第五章 作为经济品的货币
章节大纲
一、货币既非生产品也非消费品
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.
传统上，经济商品被分为消费品（门格尔称为初级商品）和生产品（门格尔称为高阶商品）。消费品直接满足人的欲望，而生产品只是间接满足人的欲望。（例如，苹果对饥饿的人来说可能是一种消费品，而苹果种子则是一种生产品。）如果我们坚持这种二分法，那么货币必须是生产品，因为它显然不是消费品。然而，这也是有问题的，因为货币与其它类型的生产商品有很大不同。
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.
解决方案是采用三分法，包括消费品，生产品和交易媒介。 这是有道理的，因为货币不像账簿那样是一种“商业工具”。 虽然在某种意义上，货币“促进商业活动”，就像船和铁路一样，但它们在一个关键的方面有所不同：增加货币供应并不能使社区更富裕，而拥有更多的船、铁路和其它生产品则可以使人的欲望得到更大的满足。这就是为什么货币应该被分为一个单独的类别，即交易媒介。
二、作为私人资本一部分的货币
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.”
私人资本可以定义为作为购买商品手段的产品的总和。货币应该明确地包含在这一类别中。事实上，从历史上看，有息货币是“资本”概念的起点。
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.
随着时间的推移，理论家们意识到货币是“贫瘠的”，并没有像物理种子或人类劳动那样直接产生“果实”。为了解释为什么人们愿意为货币贷款支付利息，我们必须认识到可以将货币换成其他生产性商品。这一观察强化了将货币分类为交易媒介而不是生产品的决定：得以将货币纳入私人资本的唯一方法是将其与其它生产品区分开来，并认识到货币交换其它生产品的特殊能力。
三、不是社会资本一部分的货币
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.
社会（或生产性）资本可以定义为用于进一步生产的产品的总和。如果我们否认货币是生产品，那么显然它不能成为社会（或生产性）资本的一部分。
重要贡献
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 Böhm-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.
米塞斯对各种辩论的总结（关于货币是否是生产品，或者它是否是社会资本的一部分）可能会使一些读者感到困难甚至乏味。然而，在这些段落中，米塞斯展示了他对文学的掌控力，而且他也解释了为什么他倾向于一种观点而不是另一种观点。米塞斯的观点有时不同于欧根·冯·庞巴维克，他是门格尔之后（我们现在称之为）奥地利经济学派的伟大先驱。读者可以看到，米塞斯并不是简单地遵循他的前任在奥地利经济学派传统中所建立的路径，而是权衡各种思想家的论点，并结合每一种思想中最强大的部分构建米塞斯体系。
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.
正如他对货币替代品，信用货币等的分类一样，在本章中，米塞斯在定义他的概念和证明他的决定时运用了非常精确的方法。对于本章中的问题，米塞斯告诉读者（英文版第86页），基础工作对于理解本书第三部分中关于均衡和货币利率的讨论非常重要。
新术语
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：与当前和未来消费的资本品的真实供给和消费者偏好相对应的利率。也称为自然利率。
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.)
货币利率：市场上确定的货币贷款利率。（在本书第3部分中解释的过程中，货币汇率可能偏离均衡[或自然]利率。）
Private capital: The aggregate of the products that serve as a means to the acquisition of goods.
私人资本：作为商品购买手段的产品的总和。
Social (productive) capital: The aggregate of the products intended for employment in further production.
社会（生产性）资本：用于进一步生产的产品的总和。
研究问题
What are the views of Roscher and Knies with respect to classifying money? (p. 79)
罗雪儿（Roscher）和克尼斯（Knies）对货币的分类有什么看法？ （英文版第79页）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)
对于那些想否认货币兑换是生产行为的人（如Knies），赫弗里希（Helfferich）有什么反对意见？（英文版第79-80页）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)
解释：“货币显然不是一种‘商业工具’，如账簿、交易清单、证券交易所或信贷系统的功能那样。”（英文版第83页）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)
解释：“鉴于生产品和消费品价值的变化并不能减轻由货币数量变化产生的损失或获得的满足感减损，…货币价值的变化通过这样一种方式适应人们对货币的需求，即不管货币数量增加或减少，人类的经济地位保持不变。（英文版第85页）What hindered the development of a scientific understanding of capital and interest? (pp. 88–89)
是什么阻碍了对资本和利益的科学认识的发展？（英文版第88-89页）
