If the market is a distributed algorithm, then money is a representation of some of its free variables.
Both are made up in the sense that the algorithm itself can be modified by regulation or social convention. There's even a field of economics dedicated to finding out how to engineer such an algorithm (a mechanism) to satisfy a given objective.
But if the algorithm is more or less stable, then it makes more sense to study it rather than just parts of its state. That's the difference.
Both are made up in the sense that the algorithm itself can be modified by regulation or social convention. There's even a field of economics dedicated to finding out how to engineer such an algorithm (a mechanism) to satisfy a given objective.
But if the algorithm is more or less stable, then it makes more sense to study it rather than just parts of its state. That's the difference.