4 ms·

Sounds like it's related to Graeber's book, "Debt, The First 5000 Years".

by mriet 3y ago

Mistletoe 3y ago
Another book in this vein is The Price of Time: The Real Story of Interest by Edward Chancellor if anyone is looking for one.
- throw0101b 3y ago
  See also Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358103-money https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358103-money And The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession (2e has an intro from Volcker): * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249245.The_Power_of_Gold https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249245.The_Power_of_Gold With all the talk of the US dollar losing its status (highly unlikely due to no realistic alternative), How Global Currencies Work: Past, Present, and Future on the history of various previously predominant currencies is also interesting: * https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691177007/how-global-currencies-work https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691177007/ho...
  - rnk 3y ago
    There's no obvious alternative but there's nothing stopping other countries from using other currencies than dollars to do transactions, just the infrastructure that supports it. It feels like the dollar is more stable than other countries currencies, due in large part to our strong economy and strong military. China is big enough that they can probably do transactions in their currency, but any week they can significantly devalue it.
    - deleted 3y ago
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    - throw0101b 3y ago
      > China is big enough that they can probably do transactions in their currency, but any week they can significantly devalue it. There are roughly as many CAD and AUD transactions as RMB/CNY: * https://data.imf.org/?sk=e6a5f467-c14b-4aa8-9f6d-5a09ec4e62a4 https://data.imf.org/?sk=e6a5f467-c14b-4aa8-9f6d-5a09ec4e62a... * https://www.statista.com/statistics/247328/activity-per-trading-day-on-the-global-currency-market/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/247328/activity-per-trad...
      - rnk 3y ago
        Wow, thanks for posting that. I wasn't away RMB was not used that much up to now. US + Euro is 9/12 of that trading on the imf.org link. 9/12, 75%! Maybe a little of that could switch to rmb in trading with china, but as china is such a huge economy in the world, close to the US in many ways (ignoring their current problems/shrinkage), isn't the minuscule amount of RMB transactions just another sign that everyone is using dollars. How much is the total US transactions with China, would like to compare to the charts to see theoretical maximum.
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- deleted 3y ago
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syndicatedjelly 3y ago
Is that worth reading for someone casually interested in economics and its history? Or is it pretty dense and technical
- rufus_foreman 3y ago
  There are single sentences in that book that have half a dozen factual errors. So, you decide if that is worth reading.
- rubidium 3y ago
  I found it to be good for casual people economic history. Wasn’t overly “economics” in the technical sense.
- abdullahkhalids 3y ago
  It is not technical at all. But it is more dense than a typical non-fiction book you read these days. Also heavily referenced like a scholarly work. I would highly recommend reading it, as it exposes you to the many biases in the orthodox framework of economic thought prevalent in the world today.

Sounds like it's related to Graeber's book, "Debt, The First 5000 Years".

by mriet 3y ago

Sounds like it's related to Graeber's book, "Debt, The First 5000 Years".

Another book in this vein is The Price of Time: The Real Story of Interest by Edward Chancellor if anyone is looking for one.

throw0101b 3y ago
See also Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358103-money https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358103-money And The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession (2e has an intro from Volcker): * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249245.The_Power_of_Gold https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249245.The_Power_of_Gold With all the talk of the US dollar losing its status (highly unlikely due to no realistic alternative), How Global Currencies Work: Past, Present, and Future on the history of various previously predominant currencies is also interesting: * https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691177007/how-global-currencies-work https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691177007/ho...
- rnk 3y ago
  There's no obvious alternative but there's nothing stopping other countries from using other currencies than dollars to do transactions, just the infrastructure that supports it. It feels like the dollar is more stable than other countries currencies, due in large part to our strong economy and strong military. China is big enough that they can probably do transactions in their currency, but any week they can significantly devalue it.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - throw0101b 3y ago
    > China is big enough that they can probably do transactions in their currency, but any week they can significantly devalue it. There are roughly as many CAD and AUD transactions as RMB/CNY: * https://data.imf.org/?sk=e6a5f467-c14b-4aa8-9f6d-5a09ec4e62a4 https://data.imf.org/?sk=e6a5f467-c14b-4aa8-9f6d-5a09ec4e62a... * https://www.statista.com/statistics/247328/activity-per-trading-day-on-the-global-currency-market/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/247328/activity-per-trad...
    - rnk 3y ago
      Wow, thanks for posting that. I wasn't away RMB was not used that much up to now. US + Euro is 9/12 of that trading on the imf.org link. 9/12, 75%! Maybe a little of that could switch to rmb in trading with china, but as china is such a huge economy in the world, close to the US in many ways (ignoring their current problems/shrinkage), isn't the minuscule amount of RMB transactions just another sign that everyone is using dollars. How much is the total US transactions with China, would like to compare to the charts to see theoretical maximum.

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deleted 3y ago
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syndicatedjelly 3y ago

Is that worth reading for someone casually interested in economics and its history? Or is it pretty dense and technical

rufus_foreman 3y ago
There are single sentences in that book that have half a dozen factual errors. So, you decide if that is worth reading.
rubidium 3y ago
I found it to be good for casual people economic history. Wasn’t overly “economics” in the technical sense.
abdullahkhalids 3y ago
It is not technical at all. But it is more dense than a typical non-fiction book you read these days. Also heavily referenced like a scholarly work. I would highly recommend reading it, as it exposes you to the many biases in the orthodox framework of economic thought prevalent in the world today.