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Isn't that 'credit system' just one step in transitioning to a monetary system? It's unlikely that people were battering one day and then suddenly had this gre
by postingawayonhn 5y ago
Isn't that 'credit system' just one step in transitioning to a monetary system?
It's unlikely that people were battering one day and then suddenly had this great idea of transitioning to a system of using money. Battering > battering with some credit > formalised money system seems like a logical series of steps to me. And of course there would be many more small steps between those. I would expect the number of transactions using credit to track the growth of society and the corresponding range of goods and service available.
- alexilliamson 5y agoWell thats the whole point of the debt book. Taking that progression and poking holes in it. IIRC, Graber suggests that physical money came in too play when kings needed to levy armies.
- __MatrixMan__ 5y agoI know this is a lousy source, but my Latin teacher in High School claimed that Caesar invented fiat currency (although she didn't use those words). He put is face on gold coin, gave it to soldiers, and demanded that his taxes be paid not in any-old-gold, but in Caesar-face gold. Thereby ensuring that recently conquered villages have an incentive to feed and house the solders that conquered them. This way, those soldiers didn't need to resupply before moving on to the next village. It would seem that we've been using money to override ethics on behalf of the powerful ever since.