Full Idea
Von Neumann's version of the natural numbers is in fact preferred because it carries over directly to the transfinite ordinals.
Gist of Idea
Von Neumann numbers are preferred, because they continue into the transfinite
Source
comment on John von Neumann (On the Introduction of Transfinite Numbers [1923]) by Penelope Maddy - Naturalism in Mathematics I.2 n9
Book Reference
Maddy,Penelope: 'Naturalism in Mathematics' [OUP 2000], p.24