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> Money originated as a way for kings to pay troops, who operated outside these village economies. That’s one theory, and it’s not even the one Graeber preferr
by xondono 5y ago
> Money originated as a way for kings to pay troops, who operated outside these village economies.
That’s one theory, and it’s not even the one Graeber preferred. According to him (and supporting evidence) money originated as a way to “keep score” of debts.
The question of the origin of money is an interesting one, but that will be probably be unsolvable, since some of the alternative theories (like barter) would leave little to no evidence.
- imtringued 5y agoYes, money is just a token to keep track of your balance sheet intuitively. Given a secure enough institution we could do it entirely on paper.
- bruiseralmighty 5y agoThis is one of the fundamental principles behind Satoshi's white-paper and all of crypto currency.