money --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Jim Devine" <jdevin...@xxxxxxxxx> - Terry McDonough wrote: > This is an alternative to the standard origin story where a universal > commodity intermediates what used to be barter. The market does not generate > its own currency initially and consequently monetary economies are intimately > imbricated with the state from their origin.< the whole idea of regular barter being used in social exchanges seems silly. I think that instead of standard market exchanges, Karl Polanyi was right: reciprocity and redistribution were the main ways of organizing "exchange" before the rise of money and markets. The former splits into two types: a) balanced reciprocity (I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.) b) generalized reciprocity is the same as virtually uninhibited sharing. ( which is to say primitive communism -CB) ^^^ CB: Sure; But for 99% of human history , and before "markets", "production" was for use, not for exchange. Hunters and gatherers and foragers gather their own food and eat it, and make their own tools, stone and wood, and use them. Some exchange goes on on the periphery of the group with other groups , but i it is not economic , but symbolic and diplomatic. See _Stone Age Economics_ by Sahlins ( he was a student of Polanyi, and includes the latter's best insights.). I with you on barter in that money probably was invented pretty soon after commodity exchange got going in a big way. "Ill scratch your back if you scratch mine " is barter. Commodity exchange is inherent to an increased division of labor , specialization, beyond that of hunters and gatherers. It also arises simultaneously with production of surpluses. Production for exchange is by definition production of surpluses beyond the use needs of the producer. Producing more than you yourself can use. There was probably barter at the origin of commodity exchange. Barter is just no institution of money, but money probably arose relatively quickly after commodity exchange arose, so your "nonsanguinity" about barter seems well founded. This message has been scanned for malware by SurfControl plc. www.surfcontrol.com _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
