币值应逐渐降低的理由

(2)币值应逐渐降低的理由

凯衍斯当欧战结束以后，目击许多国家正准备恢复他们的币值，就感觉那种政策不甚妥当。当他著《货币改革论》的时候，他还只比较货币膨胀与货币紧缩两种政策孰为最劣，而未曾提议一个具体办法。他说，“膨胀的结果是不公允，紧缩的结果是不方便。两者之中，除像德国的过度膨胀以外，紧缩比膨胀还要坏。为什么呢?因为在这贫穷了的世界，与其使一般人失业，不如使有固定收入者失望”。

“Thus Inflation is unjust and Deflation is inexpedient Of the two perhaps Deflation is，if we rule out exaggerated inflations such as that of Germany，the worse;because it is worse，in an impoverished world，to provide unemployment than disappoint the rentier.”^[15]

后来，他著《货币论》到第二册末尾，就提出了一个具体的主义，是货币逐渐地贬值。这有两个理由:第一，他说，“依本书第二篇所述，一般的物价，常随技术发明的进展，多半比劳役的价格跌落得快些，而批发物价本位比零售物价本位跌落得更快，因为后者包含成分较大的劳役，而此种劳役非技术改良所能影响的。因此，依表本位而得的币值安定必使消费本位趋于上升，并且所得本位的上升必较消费本位的上升为尤甚。这就是说，货币收入必然增加，而生活费亦必有上涨的趋势，但其上涨不如货币收入之甚”。

“As we have seen in BookⅡ，the prices of commodities are likely with the progress of technical discovery，to fall relatively to the price of service，and the wholesale standard is likely to fall relatively to the retail standard，because the latter includes a larger proportion of services of a kind not likely to bemuch affected by technical improvements.Consequently，stability of the Tabular standard will mean a tendency of the Consumption standard to rise，and，besides，the Earning standard will rise more than the Consumption standard;i.e.，money-incomes will increase and the cost of living will tend upward，but not so much asmoney-incomes.”^[16]

“第二个理由，使我(凯衍斯自称)赞成货币的购买力与货物的劳动力向下而不要向上，而在他人比较重视过去的利益或不甚感觉到。由过去借款而来的债务，国债是最重要的。此种债务，我以为应随时代的迁移，逐渐减少其支配人类之努力与人类努力之结果;人类进步应该从死人手中解除其束缚;过去改良的结果，虽然曾经活人种其因，但那些活人早已过去，现在不应该让死人再为把持不放手。”

“The second reason for favouring a downward，rather than an upward，tendency of the Purchasing Power of Money and of Labour Power of Money appeals to me，but not so much，possibly，to those who value more highly than I do the vested interest of the past.I think it desirable that obligations arising out of past borrowing，of which National Debts are the most important，should，as time goes on，gradually command less and less of human effortand of the results of human effort;that progress should loosen the grip of the dead hand;that the dead hand should not be allowed to grasp the fruits of improvementsmade long after the live body which once directed ithas passed away.”^[17]