Best treatise on money is David Graeber's Debt, the first 5000 years. One huge revaluation in that book is barter is not really a thing. Prior to hard currency

Best treatise on money is David Graeber's Debt, the first 5000 years. One huge revaluation in that book is barter is not really a thing. Prior to hard currency and state money, people just got into debt with each other. They didn't barter. Money on the other hand and markets were created by emperors and kings to fulfill needs of the soldiers and the empire. No place just creates markets without state influence. In other words, markets were a hack used by kings to get wha t they want. They forced markets on people via money (which requires taxes). In other words, to create markets you first need to force people to pay taxes. Fascinating book and also gives a reason why bitcoin is not money, but at best a proxy and store of value.