An Alternate Currency Challenge

Have a currency that's value is based on labor instead of a certain weight of metal. Time doesn't matter, but pre-700AD or in the 1700s would be preferable. Even 20th C would be acceptable. The catch is that this currency must become widely known beyond it's originating culture and time, at the least as an academic curiousity, preferably adopted by other nations in other eras.

This idea comes from remembering (perhaps incorrectly) Adam Smith writing that the wealth of the ordinary person derives directly from their labour, and from how some cultures based wealth on cattle. Also trying to control inflation.

I've little idea how this would practically work. The nation could hardly have a stock of slaves to back up the currency (think Fort Knox's gold). A communist nation seems the most likely to me to issue such a currency, each worker being issued one $ for one days work. Any good ideas out there?
 
Technically, Fiat Currency is based on labour, as it has no physical backing and is based off national revenue that a government receives.
 
This sort of reminds me of Terry Pratchett's Strata, where the basic unit of currency in the corporate state is the Day. This can be exchanged for a sufficient dose of longevity drugs to add 1 day to your lifespan. Since everybody earns far more than a Day in a day's work, as long as you keep working for the company you're immortal...

And labour-based currencies already exist. They're called scrip. On a national scale, you'd need a Communist state which regards everyone's work as equal- currency equivalent to a day's labour is fixed to be enough to allow you to buy your day's ration of food and other consumables, plus (perhaps) a little bit extra for luxuries.
 
Maybe if the government theoretically had ownership of all the land, and anything done on it was therefore considered service to the state? Like the corvee labor that built the Pyramids, only on a day-to-day scale. Therefore everybody who pays for something is actually making a promise to provide a certain amount of labor to the seller at a later date? I don't know, it's a very far-out concept.
 
This idea comes from remembering (perhaps incorrectly) Adam Smith writing that the wealth of the ordinary person derives directly from their labour, and from how some cultures based wealth on cattle. Also trying to control inflation.

He said that prices were based on the labor that went into a good or service. The real problem is that he was wrong when he said this so I don't know how you could base a currency on it.
 
And labour-based currencies already exist. They're called scrip. On a national scale, you'd need a Communist state which regards everyone's work as equal- currency equivalent to a day's labour is fixed to be enough to allow you to buy your day's ration of food and other consumables, plus (perhaps) a little bit extra for luxuries.
Hmm, good thought. Thanks.

Maybe if the government theoretically had ownership of all the land, and anything done on it was therefore considered service to the state? Like the corvee labor that built the Pyramids, only on a day-to-day scale. Therefore everybody who pays for something is actually making a promise to provide a certain amount of labor to the seller at a later date? I don't know, it's a very far-out concept.
Ohhh. Very good idea. That may be a winner.

He said that prices were based on the labor that went into a good or service. The real problem is that he was wrong when he said this so I don't know how you could base a currency on it.
Thanks for setting me straight. This doesn't have to have anything to do Smith, though. Even if it did, i'm sure flawed ideas have led to successful results before.

Technically, Fiat Currency is based on labour, as it has no physical backing and is based off national revenue that a government receives.
Not at all what i mean and you know it.
 
I think they have some work exchange "currency" experiment somewhere, maybe in England at present day. However, to late.
 
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