The Barter system is an economic

system in which two parties trade certain goods or services that each needs to survive.Bartering benefits companies and countries that see a mutual benefit in exchanging goods and services rather than cash, and it also enables those who are lacking "hard currency" to obtain goods and services. An example of a barter arrangement would be if someone built a fence for a cattle farmer in exchange for food. Rather than the farmer paying the builder, say, $ ,!!! for the fence, he would give the builder a similar value in beef. "alton # $%&, p. % ' warned that "...in (nglish, we use the treacherous term barter to mean two very different kinds of transactions) moneyless market exchange #market exchange in kind', and moneyless exchange of any sort #gift*giving, prestations, ceremonial exchanges such as potlatch, +ula and moka'"."omestic barter, as practised within local and regional communities, in its most basic form, is simply the simultaneous transfer of goods and services agreed upon implicitly as being of e,ual worth and concluded under the one -contract. #Birch and /iesch $$0'. 1owever, it need not be practised in this basic form, as centralised trading facilities have enabled unilateral #rather than direct reciprocal' trades. "omestic barter, as practised within local and regional communities, in its most basic form, is simply the simultaneous transfer of goods and services agreed upon implicitly as being of e,ual worth and concluded under the one -contract. #Birch and /iesch $$0'. 1owever, it need not be practised in this basic form, as centralised trading facilities have enabled unilateral #rather than direct reciprocal' trades. 2here.s a reason why a barter system is a symptom of severe, sudden poverty and dramatic economic collapse preceded by runaway inflation. 3t.s because a barter system is inefficient and only advantageous over a monetary system when the money cannot hold its value predictably. ' 2he dollar is far more stable a predictor of value, since any barter system would be new and hence difficult to predict. 4obody knows if the barter points will be honored at all, let alone honored at full value, or for how long. 2hey very likely would not hold the force of law, and certainly wouldn.t have the 5ecret 5ervice arresting counterfeiters. &' 2he dollar is a far better accounting tool, since it.s easier to put dollars into the balance sheet than nebulous barter points. Businesses will be able to tell more easily with dollars 6' 2he dollar is far more portable, since a business can use dollars anywhere in the 75, and nearly anywhere in the world, while barter points would likely only be good in certain parts of 8leveland. 9' 2he dollar allows for far more competition: a barter system would limit one.s options to those geographically proximate and to those in the barter system, while dollars could be used to buy supplies from anybody anywhere. 2his means that artifically or absurdly high prices would go unchecked or under*checked, since barterers would be partially insulated from competition. 2he only real advantage, besides conservative, community*based feel*goodism, is that it.s an effective way to avoid paying sales taxes. 3 suspect a cash*strapped 8leveland city government would seek to remedy that shortly, if it were able. ;hen Russia.s ruble had that horrible plunge in $$% people in many areas were forced to resort to the barter system, <ust as =ermans did when the ;eimar >arks became more useful as paperweights #bundled together' than money. 2he barter system is a sign of backwards, poverty, privation and near*total economic failure