ZEN and the Art of Modern Money (Part 2)

As it stands, our diagram-machine has no fuel (“money”) in it, so it can’t operate.

就目前情况而言，我们的图表机器中没有燃料（“钱”），因此它无法运行。

We could go through an exercise to imagine how it could prime itself in order to begin operations.

我们可以通过一个练习来想象它如何自我准备以开始运作。

But this would lead to other topics and considerations which would only distract us from our present goal—which is to simply understand HOW the diagram-machine operates—and how, and when, in the course of its operations, it creates money.

但这会导致其他主题和考虑，这些主题和考虑只会分散我们对当前目标的注意力——即简单地理解图表机器如何运作——以及在其运作过程中如何以及何时创造金钱。

To move things along, we’ll simply (and arbitrarily) populate the machine with some money to get it started.

为了推动事情的发展，我们将简单地（任意地）向机器填充一些钱来启动它。

We’ll assign to each of the eight “accounts” of our diagram-machine a value of ten dollars:

我们将为图表机器的八个“帐户”中的每一个分配十美元的价值：

You’ll notice there seem to be a lot of different “identities” the ten dollars can take: “Reserves,” “bank-dollars,” “promissory notes” etc. So, we need to take a quick moment to understand the different flavors of the fuel our machine will be running on.

您会注意到，十美元似乎可以有很多不同的“身份”：“储备”、“银行美元”、“期票”等。因此，我们需要花点时间来了解我们的机器将使用的不同燃料。

All the “dollars” in the machine, then, are either Reserves, or claims on Reserves, or promises to pay Reserves (or claims on Reserves) at some point in the future.

那么，机器中的所有“美元”要么是储备金，要么是对储备金的债权，要么是承诺在未来某个时刻支付储备金（或对储备金的债权）。

If you’re wondering where “cash” dollars—those things we all think of as “money”—fit in, please read the side-bar on page__.

如果您想知道“现金”美元（我们都认为是“金钱”的东西）适合在哪里，请阅读第__页的侧边栏。

(Short answer: Federal Reserve Notes, i.e. “cash” dollars, are simply another form of claim on Reserves at the Central Bank.

（简短的回答：联邦储备券，即“现金”美元，只是对中央银行储备金的另一种索取形式。

In that sense, they are no different than bank-dollars, and they are not something that plays a unique role in the operation of our machine.)

从这个意义上说，它们与银行美元没有什么不同，并且它们并不是在我们机器的运行中发挥独特作用的东西。）

Those are the “fuel-flavors” our Diagram-machine is going to run on.

这些就是我们的图表机器将要运行的“燃料口味”。

Now we’re finally ready for our first machine operation.

现在我们终于准备好进行第一次机器操作了。

The person with bank account#1 purchases a new pair of shoes for $25.

银行账户#1 的人花 25 美元购买了一双新鞋。

They write a check on their account#1 and exchange it with the shoe store for the shoes.

他们在自己的账户#1 上写了一张支票，然后与鞋店交换鞋子。

To see why our diagram-machine isn’t quite finished with OPERATION #1, we must take note that our fuel flow-meter is telling us Bank#1 Reserve account is minus $15Rs!

要了解为什么我们的图表机尚未完全完成操作#1，我们必须注意我们的燃油流量计告诉我们银行#1 储备账户的余额为负 15 卢比！

It didn’t have $25 Reserves to transfer to Bank#2 Reserve account!

它没有 25 美元的储备金可转入 Bank#2 储备金账户！

This is our second “pay-attention-to” moment: A bank’s Reserve account at the Central Bank cannot be negative!

这是我们第二个“注意”的时刻：银行在央行的准备金账户不能为负数！

Banks are required, by law, to maintain adequate Reserves in their Central Bank account to handle the “clearing” demands that might come due at the end of each business day.

根据法律，银行必须在其中央银行账户中保留足够的准备金，以处理每个工作日结束时可能到期的“清算”要求。

Something else, then, must happen in our Diagram-machine to correct this “impossible” situation—or else our machine will seize up.

那么，我们的图表机器中必须发生其他事情来纠正这种“不可能”的情况，否则我们的机器就会失灵。

Fortunately, the machine is designed to manage and accommodate this very situation.

幸运的是，该机器的设计就是为了管理和适应这种情况。

Watch, now, what it does:

现在看看它做了什么：

Our first operation of the Diagram-machine is now (finally) complete.

我们对图表机器的第一次操作现在（终于）完成了。

But let’s not forget what was really accomplished by all this accounting: Someone in America (in this case the owner of bank account#1) has a obtained a new pair of shoes!

但我们不要忘记所有这些会计工作真正完成的是什么：美国某人（在本例中是银行帐户＃1的所有者）获得了一双新鞋！

That’s what the operation was all about.

这就是这次手术的目的。

Let’s stop here, before continuing, and consider what we’ve just observed.

在继续之前，让我们在这里停下来，考虑一下我们刚刚观察到的情况。

First, our diagram-machine has facilitated a transaction in the Private Combustion Chamber resulting in the consumption of a new pair of shoes.

首先，我们的图表机促进了私人燃烧室中的交易，从而消耗了一双新鞋。

What we’ve observed, however, is that the “real” financial transaction doesn’t take place at the shoe store.

然而，我们观察到，“真正的”金融交易并不发生在鞋店。

It takes place, instead, at the Central Bank when Reserves (the “real” U.S. dollars) are claimed and then debited and credited between Reserve accounts.

相反，它发生在中央银行，当储备金（“真正的”美元）被认领，然后在储备金账户之间借记和贷记时。

This exchange takes place entirely within the Central Bank, and “mirrors” the exchange that took place—with bank-dollars—at the shoe store.

这种交换完全在中央银行内部进行，并且“反映”了在鞋店与银行美元进行的交换。

Also note that Reserves, themselves, never leave the Central Bank!

另请注意，储备金本身永远不会离开中央银行！

They are debited and credited between different accounts at the Central Bank, but they never leave its confines.

它们在中央银行的不同账户之间进行借记和贷记，但它们永远不会离开中央银行的范围。

The Central Bank, in effect, is a “score-keeper” of the exchanges that are going on in the outside world and Reserves are the “points” that keep the score!

实际上，央行是外界交易的“记分员”，而储备金则是记分的“分”！

If the players in the outside game decide to run up the score (as the owner of bank account#1 did when it signed the $20 Promissory Note) the Central Bank operations automatically create the necessary “points” to keep the game going.

如果外部游戏中的玩家决定提高分数（就像 1 号银行帐户的所有者在签署 20 美元本票时所做的那样），中央银行操作会自动创建必要的“分数”以保持游戏继续进行。

Second, we’ve observed that when we began our operation, there was not enough fuel (money) in either of the bank accounts (or both together) to buy the shoes.

其次，我们观察到，当我们开始运营时，任何一个银行账户（或两个银行账户）中都没有足够的燃料（钱）来购买鞋子。

As we just noted above, the machine, itself, produced the necessary dollars to make the transaction happen.

正如我们上面提到的，机器本身产生了使交易发生所需的美元。

The Reserves the FED loaned to Bank#1 were new Reserves it created out of thin air.

美联储借给第一银行的储备金是它凭空创造的新储备金。

When the FED needs to produce Reserves, it does not withdraw them from an “account,” it simply issues them.

当美联储需要产生储备金时，它不会从“账户”中提取储备金，而只是发行储备金。

This is precisely what it was designed and empowered to do.

这正是它的设计和授权的目的。

What we have observed in OPERATION #1, then, is that the American consumer decided a new pair of shoes was needed—and our diagram-machine produced the dollars that enabled the shoe-consumption transaction to take place.

那么，我们在操作 #1 中观察到的是，美国消费者决定需要一双新鞋，而我们的图表机器产生了美元，使鞋子消费交易能够发生。

Specifically, the FED produced the new Reserves that enabled the “clearing” process to complete itself.

具体来说，美联储产生了新的储备金，使“清算”过程能够自行完成。

We might stop here and ask ourselves: Is this what people mean when they talk about “printing money”?

我们不妨停下来问问自己：这就是人们所说的“印钞”吗？

The FED, in the operation of our diagram-machine, has created $25 Reserves which previously did not exist.

美联储在我们的图表机器的操作中创造了 25 美元的储备金，这在以前是不存在的。

Is that good or bad?

这是好是坏？

Is that creating a problem, or solving a problem?

这是制造问题，还是解决问题？

Is there even a problem?

难道还有问题吗？

Is the diagram-machine simply operating as it was intended—or has some travesty just occurred?

图表机器只是按照预期运行，还是刚刚发生了一些滑稽的事情？

These questions will become even more important in our next diagram-machine operation involving the Public Combustion Chamber.

这些问题在我们下一次涉及公共燃烧室的图机操作中将变得更加重要。