Steven Roth: "In the Beginning...Was the Unit of Account" - Twelve Myths About Money

Steven Roth writes that “In the Beginning…Was the Unit of Account” — Twelve Myths About Money.

So my question: what’s a good metaphorical or figurative comparison to help us understand and explain this strange conceptual thingamabob? Is money an invention like algebra? Are there other conceptual constructs that are similar to units of account, comparable mental entities that can help us think about what these things are? I can’t think of any good analogies. It’s vexing.

Emphasis Mine

In simple Marxist terms, money is a commodity. Based on this characterisation, Roth is right in saying that money is an asset. But he oversimplifies. He denies that interest is the price of money.

A commodity has both an exchange-value and a use-value. Assets are thought of in terms of exchange-value. An asset can fluctuate in its exchange-value, thereby giving an asset a capability to store exchange-value. Commodities can be further traded, or consumed. With consumption, the commodity is extinguished, and its exchange-value and use-value expire.

But not all commodities are exchangeable for all other ones. Commodities that are universably tradeable are called money.

Interest should be better described as the rental price for money. A loan is the right to use a quantity of money. The ownership of the commodity is not transferred as would be the case of an exchange.