HIST 1180 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Barter
17 Nov 2017
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Credit economies are the real past: anthropologists say that credit economies predate money use, most exchange occurred without money between people who knew one another well, mutuality (cid:862)retur(cid:374) the favour(cid:863, what is credit? an exchange of obligation. Barter normally appears in two situations: form of exchange between groups of stranger and even enemies, when money becomes scarce. Adam smith wrong, money and markets did not result from our prope(cid:374)sity (cid:862)to tru(cid:272)k a(cid:374)d (cid:271)arter(cid:863: anthropologists say that facts demonstrate that governments created/developed markets and money (ironic). Why: governments coined money for army procurement, mines, soldiers, taxes, food. Neoclassical economic ideology and ironies: suggests: best way for the economy to function is by getting governments out of the way of markets as it was in the beginning. Coinage and rise of markets a way to pay for and provision armies. We need to question the formalist position on money from many perspectives.
