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The article repeats a commonly believed myth about money being invented as a replacement for barter. Adam Smith thought so, as do many economists, but they for
by not2b 6y ago
The article repeats a commonly believed myth about money being invented as a replacement for barter. Adam Smith thought so, as do many economists, but they forgot to ask anthropologists. See https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/02/barter-society-myth/471051/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/02/barter-...
- roughly 6y agoStrongly recommend "Debt: The First 5000 Years" by David Graeber - https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781612194196 https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781612194196 - solid treatment of economic history from an anthropological viewpoint.
- Nasrudith 6y agoI thought there were some hints of barter of sorts in palace economies from shipwrecks - no currency but incoming exotic commodities they couldn't produce and outgoing ships of commodities well beyond any personal use implies some trade relationships. The fact Palace Economies all died out doesn't mean a barter economy never existed, just that it wasn't stable enough to leave any isolated "time capsule cultures". Granted palace economy commerce isn't on a personal level unless you count the ruler who allocates everything.