12 Comments

Christopher Ryan writes about the "Flintstonization" of history in "Sex at Dawn."

Expand full comment

Interesting. I'll check it out!

Expand full comment

Another source of excellent archeological understanding of the history, purpose and operations of money is Michael Hudson.

Expand full comment

Definitely!

Expand full comment

Very good!

Expand full comment

Glad you like it Lars

Expand full comment

Great comparison and all fair points. The arguments and explanations of Smith and Jevons certainly have some validity yet seem limited regarding causality. A key factor is the network of close associates compared to an economic situation of exchange on a geographically wider scale, which also comes with greater specialization - division of labor. Factoring in such additional factors of development like increasing ‚mobility‘ might lead to the need of reformulating the question of the chain of causality of the introduction of money - was that solely a requirement of circumventing the obvious limitations of direct barter or was the genesis of money driven by both increasing specialization and expansion of communities through mobility and the reciprocity between those two factors - divison of labor and evolution of markets through extended expansion and increasing demand, which in turn would have multiplied the limitations of direct barter

Expand full comment

The basic point is that Smith and Jevons simply assume that markets exist prior to money, and that the market drew money into being to unclog itself (and they also see money as being like a special commodity *within* a market). The opposite pole is to see money as preceding (large-scale) markets, such that money brings markets to life (in much the same way that cars bring modern Los Angeles to life), and to see that money *underpins* markets, and is inseparable from them, rather than being a separable commodity traded within them. The middle position is to see these two poles as co-evolving

Expand full comment

Let's get rid of money . . . . . . . . . . good idea?.

Expand full comment

Well, probably worth developing another system before doing that! Ha ha

Expand full comment

on to it . . . . www.moneyfreeparty.uk I wonder, have you thought this far ahead?

Expand full comment

I'll take a look, thanks Simon

Expand full comment