Time as Journey, Money as Destination

Why is economic time an important consideration, especially in terms of GDP measure? Recall that today's GDP is all about what transpires in the current year of our economic journeys. After all, few aspects of life capture this process more effectively than the time commitments we assume, in part to meet our financial obligations. For anyone who doubts the significance of time based participation as wealth creation, the close correlation of nominal income with aggregate spending is an apt example. 

Nevertheless, some of the more obvious forms of wealth end up as destinations such as buildings and other physical assets. Real estate in particular tends to be passive holdings that aren't closely associated with economic dynamism, once they are constructed. Despite their reliable qualities in terms of asset values, passive holdings are mostly indirect contributors to current economic circumstance, and their value fluctuates accordingly. 

Since money naturally flows toward real estate holdings, this passive tendency helps explain why monetary representation isn't completely straightforward in the measure of GDP. Meanwhile, much of our aggregate time value lacks monetary equivalence. Despite the importance of time participation in the measure of GDP, aggregate time value is so unevenly represented, that consumer inflation does not readily correlate with asset inflation in general equilibrium. 

If we are to achieve greater economic stability in the near future, more emphasis will be needed on the journey itself, and not just the destination. By no means is the measure of GDP unimportant in all this, for it is closely connected to how we go about our economic lives. Should economic time become a valid measure alongside money, not only would this increase the overall value of GDP measure, it could create additional market depth for the time value of all citizens. 

Our focus on economic journeys is especially needed for the long term preservation of applied knowledge. By far the most important aspect of economic time, is its ability to function as a vessel which carries experienced knowledge from person to person. Time is the vessel which gives societies the ability to carry forward applied knowledge in recognizable patterns. Even though money preserves activities for applied knowledge to some extent, money will always be better suited for ends than means. Alas, when money is the sole representative unit of economic value, so much of it eventually flows into passive economic destinations, that not enough remains for the actual journeys of our lives. 

Fortunately, time arbitrage patterns could supplement money by ensuring that more economic activity remains in active roles, instead of excessively flowing to passive destinations. Time arbitrage as a valid unit of economic measure, could help ensure that important knowledge flows can be maintained even in historical moments of budgetary and financial limitations. Hopefully, we will be able to create new means to sustain full levels of economic participation in the near future. Time as an economic unit of value alongside money, could bring better balance to the activities of our journeys and their eventual destinations.