[ox-en] Re: Money as a dominant social relation
- From: Christian Siefkes <christian siefkes.net>
- Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:57:02 +0200
Paul,
Paul Cockshott wrote:
Depends what you mean by money.
If you mean coinage or banknotes and all that follows, these have a clear
origin with Lydia in the west in the 8th C bc and with the spade and hoe tokens
issued by the chinese empire.
The origin of money is closely linked with state finance. It is a myth that
it originates with barter.
Inghams book 'The Nature of Money' gives a good account, see also the work
of the economist Randall Wray.
A summary is in http://pavlina-tcherneva.net/papers/Arestis-Sawyer-Chapter%2005.pdf
Reading this paper makes you wonder why the "developing" countries haven't
catapulted themselves out of their economic misery by simply state-employing
all of their inhabitants, since apparently states can do that. Or why there
is still considerable unemployment in Germany, despite all government
attempts to reduce it.
Very funny.
Obviously, you (or the authors you quote) are vastly over-estimating both
the role and the power of the state.
Best regards
Christian
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...an electric toaster, whose function is was to do to bread what social
institutions are designed to do to the human spirit...
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