In this example Item M serves as a medium of exchange, acquiring value even to those (such as Mary) who do not value it for direct use. Because exchange is one of the purposes motivating Mary's action, and because the exchange-values of M and Y serve that purpose, M and Y have significant utility for Mary and must be included on her value scale (somewhere below her highest ranked Item Y, which we have shown here).
   Joe
      Item X
  stock:
 Item M		   Mary
      Item Y
  stock:
 Item X		 Edward
      Item M
  stock:
 Item Y

If this market included more participants, Mary might seek Item M simply because she had learned that many other individuals valued M and that M would therefore doubtless be useful in some future exchange—even though she may not yet have determined precisely to whom she will trade it. A medium of exchange that acquires this kind of general acceptance is known as money. Historically, money evolved in a similar manner on all continents. It originated from economic need, not from legal, executive, or other governmental orders. Money is a natural and predictable consequence of the needs of human beings and of the structure of human action as described by praxeology.      Next page
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