[not_buying_it]

David Graeber has a nice way of explaining money arising from IOU's in Debt: the first 5,000 years. It makes a lot of sense and basically explains why the barter myth is so impractical that it could never have been a reality in any sizable community.

[maliker]

I liked his explanation of state-controlled currency evolving as a technology of war. I.e. the king needs to pay his soldiers something portable, dense with value, and hard to counterfeit, and precious metal coins fit those requirements. And then to guarantee that the coins are accepted for payment and hold their value, he imposes taxes that have to be paid by everyone using those coins. Pretty elegant and a system that, even as as a taxpayer, I hadn't thought carefully about.

[hnick]

Yes, the idea that taxes and debt existed before money to grant that money value was very eye opening, and an obvious model in hindsight.

Another example of someone in power saying "Hey, see this problem we created? Well, we also have the solution..."

[searine]

I think I've been through that book twice now and it's still a fresh read. Highly recommended.

[QuesnayJr]

The last chapter is quite poor. The rest of the book is interesting, but I would be interested to hear an evaluation by experts in the historical periods he covers.

[Nicholas_C]

It has a compelling premise but the reviews for it are not too kind so it remains on my to read list.