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Most Economists agree to define money as an accepted means of payment. It’s quite obvious that our currency – coins, paper bills – is money. My debit cards, savings account, and cheques are all forms of money. This is all evolution of money.
But wait!!
Over time, humans have even considered jewelry, land, watches, barley, or cows to be money. But my bank would consider me crazy if I tried to deposit those.
Then why did humans even bother considering these goods as money?
Looking back, we encounter trade. Our ancestors used a system known as the “barter system” to exchange goods of equal value with each other. But this way didn’t always help.
To explain the situation, let’s try an example:
I have some comic books which I want to exchange for a packet of wheat from my neighbor. She does not agree and says she has no need for comic books and won’t exchange them.
Now I am upset but I can find a third person with whom I can exchange my books. I would go to them and exchange them for something to give my neighbor.
Exhausted thinking about it?
That’s what it was like for humans then, so that’s when money- paper bills – came in. It has equal value for everyone and is the best medium for exchange today.
Books on the Evolution of Money
Have a look at some of the most fascinating books on the evolution of money over time:
1- The Evolution of Money by David Orrell
A book to help you start off understanding this topic. This book focuses on the enlightening reality between money’s real and abstract properties. It follows money’s journey from debt tablets in Mesopotamia. Moving toward coin development in Greece and Rome.
Then discussing money in the medieval age and Victorian England. This gives your insight into the history of money in different places around the world. Finally, moving into the modern age of money.
2- Money: Vintage Minis by Yuval Noah Harari
Taken from the books Sapiens and Homo Deus, Harari takes you back to the beginning. From the very first coins to 21st-century economics Harari writes his point.
Harari discusses the entire time with clarity. He tries to answer the following questions:
- How was money created?
- Why does it have such importance in our lives today?
- What revolution will come in the following years?
He unfolds the evolution that money has undergone over the years. Leaving you surprised how little we knew before.
3- The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World by Niall Ferguson
Don’t mistake the title of this book, this book is about the pathway to how money changed throughout time. Ferguson believes in the effect of the evolutionary changes that money has undergone.
He explains those evolutionary stages. He then explains how the invention of money itself came about. The writing style gives a lot of knowledge to curious minds about the history and need for money.
4- Debt: The first 5,000 Years by David Graeber
For those who wish to read something more interesting tryout Debt! It would shape the way you see the world and money.
Graeber dives into the history, sociology, psychology, and economics of debt. This leads Graeber to examine the origins of money which is the strongest section of this book.
5- An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
Adam Smith’s masterpiece he wrote back in 1776 still grabs the reader’s attention. Grasping at first may seem like an enormous obstacle but it pays off.
The concepts whatever written hit back at you. In this book, Adam Smith predicts many situations about future economies.
It leaves you sad and facing the reality we live in. It shows us how with the evolution of money so little has changed between the rich and poor.
Wrapping It Up!!!
So Grab these books and find out more! I hope these books will allow you to grasp the importance of money.
Its evolution with time and how it has affected the growth of world economies around the world. I hope these books leave you completely spellbound and curious.
Asking questions, speculating how the money will grow in the following years to come?
Reference:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6617037-debt
https://www.harvard.com/book/the_evolution_of_money/
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/what-is-money/465693/