Money as a Malleable Entity: The New Commerce of the Internet
When money is visible, it often tends to be quite malleable in terms of its use in purchasing something. Obviously, in a global economy, money becomes quite malleable with reference to exchange rates between countries. However, money is also malleable when it is used in the complex and volatile world of e-commerce. In many ways, money has become a commodity of exchange that operates more like it did in the transition from premodern to modern. During this transition we see money emerging as an important but highly malleable vehicle of exchange. It is critical in a modern society that money holds a stable value—that is the primary reason why money is used as a vehicle for the exchange of goods and services.
When the value of money is highly unstable in a modern society—as was the case in Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union—then this society is in great jeopardy. For many societies, however, that are shifting from premodern to modern, money does not hold a constant value in the marketplace. We witness this in the haggling over prices that occurs in many so-called developing countries. We also see this in the auction houses that flourish in societies that are transiting from premodern to modern. Cattle are sold at auction, as are tobacco, furniture, fine works of art and (tragically) human being (slaves). Products and services do not have a price—rather the price becomes whatever the seller can get via negotiation or auction.
Ironically, money in the emerging world of postmodern commerce is once again becoming malleable. Perhaps this is a sign of the transition that is now occurring between the modern and postmodern worlds—providing further evidence for the notion that money serves as a transitional object between modern and postmodern. The new e-commerce businesses in particular are creating a similar malleability in the value of money. FreeMarkets Inc, for instance, provides an Internet auction house that can save companies more than 15% in purchase of goods and services. In premodern fashion, FreeMarket provides a forum in which buyers and sellers can dicker over prices. In this instance, the auction is run for the sake of the buyer rather than seller with the lowest price (offered by the seller) winning the bid rather than the highest price (offered by the buyer). FreeMarket, however, is quite postmodern in not only operating over the Internet but also providing a range of services in helping buyers prepare for the auction:[ii]
“FreeMarket acts as a consultant, showing new clients how to spell out every possible requirement in their RFQs [Requests for Quotation] . . . FreeMarket is also expert at finding and screening suppliers that the clients don’t have the time or the information to track on their own. It e-mails questionnaires to each one, surveying its finances, its ISO or other quality ratings, and the condition of its equipment. Starting with a long list, the buyer winnows down the field to those it wants to invite as bidders. For example, the purchaser may choose to accept bids only from suppliers with more than $40 million in sales, the newest machines, and the coveted ISO 9000 emblem.”
