induced them to change their ways just in order to have these marks erased again and thus - in their perception - their wealth restored. friedman concludes that this example illustrates “ how important appearance or illusion or “ myth ”, given unquestioned belief, becomes in monetary matters. our own money, the money we have grown up with, the system under which it is controlled, these appear “ real ” and “ rational ” to us. yet the money of other countries often seems to us like paper or worthless metal, even when the purchasing power of individual units is quite high. ” the euro has been in existence for almost two years now. it does not come in the form of stone wheels. in fact it does not yet have any concrete and tangible expression at all. until the introduction of euro banknotes and coins at the beginning of 2002 it will essentially remain a “ virtual ” currency, which may perhaps seem as remote, unfamiliar and unnatural in the eyes of the public as the stone wheels described by friedman. this lack of tangibility and visibility of the euro in part accounts for the particular challenges that the euro faces in winning the hearts of the general public as a new currency which has yet to replace the familiar and trusted national notes and coins in circulation. as friedman ’ s example shows : symbols may be important in monetary matters. at the same time, irrespective of the particular symbols and media to which money functions are attached - be it stone wheels or computer chips - money is ultimately a question of trust. the euro ’ s current existence as a “ non - tangible currency ” perhaps makes this point - which is valid for any fiat money - more plain and obvious. no matter what specific medium of exchange a society might wish to adopt, the efficiency of money in facilitating economic transactions via the price mechanism depends on its stability as a unit of account, i. e. as a common financial denominator, for the economy. in order to hold and accept money economic agents must not only be confident that money remains accepted as a medium for exchange, but also be confident that money will retain its value over time, thereby ensuring that price signals can provide accurate guidance for markets to function efficiently. in contrast, if money loses its value, this also undermines its usefulness for exchange. indeed in periods of very high inflation currency tends to be replaced, for example, by cigarettes or other goods - or, perhaps, “ bads ” - in everyday transactions. an inflationary currency will simply cease

jean - claude trichet : interview with frankfurter allgemeine zeitung interview with mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, in frankfurter allgemeine zeitung, conducted by mr gerald braunberger and mr stefan ruhkamp, on 13 october 2011, and published on 19 october 2011. * * * mr trichet, do you believe in destiny? i have used that term on a few occasions – including the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the ecb, when i quoted konrad adenauer. he once said that europe is a community with a common destiny. he also said that “ it ’ s up to us to shape that destiny ”, and i believe he was right. you have also talked about a common destiny in connection with the euro and the sovereign debt crisis. is destiny not the opposite of a free political decision on whether or not to pursue a particular form of european integration? that is certainly not the way that i interpret the word “ destiny ”, and it ’ s definitely not konrad adenauer ’ s understanding, either. it ’ s certainly not a question of predetermination. it relates, instead, to the fundamental importance of the close unity, interdependence and friendship by which the people of europe choose to bind themselves in today ’ s world. and in that respect, we share a “ common destiny ”. many politicians have described our currency union as a matter of war and peace. is that an exaggeration? the process of integration has enabled europe to enjoy more than half a century of peace, prosperity and stability. were we to begin regressing, we would place this stability in jeopardy. from an economic perspective, the rationale for pursuing integration is far stronger today than it was in the immediate aftermath of the war. back then, china, india and latin america did not have the considerable economic importance that they have today. demographic developments have also tended to increase the importance of european integration. we europeans, if we act alone in our individual countries, will gradually look like dwarves relative to developments in the rest of the world. what is wrong with remaining dwarves? there are different ways of looking at this. but what was the original concept of europe after the war? our role model was the single us market. the view taken at the time was that, if we want to achieve prosperity and peace, we have to enjoy the same economies of scale and the same free market as the