this post was submitted on 28 May 2024
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One theory says gold currency was invented for military campaigns. Kings of old didn't need currency as they could just demand someone give or make them what they wanted, including mining for more gold. But soldiers need food, so a serious campaign means a lot of logistics. Or you could give them gold so they could buy stuff. And to make sure there is enough gold and people actually want to sell stuff the king imposes taxes.
Graeber and Wengrow also suggest this is the origin of marketplaces. People had always traded, and would often hold regular festivals or holidays where merchants would gather to exchange goods.
But the permanent armies of sovereigns require upkeep. So it isn't just that you do taxes and create a gold economy, that's the seed step. Then local producers are "gently coerced" into bringing their goods to market regularly so the armies can supply from them.
In a sense, capitalism and policing arise from ever more efficient configurations through iterations of this cycle.
IIRC an aspect of this is that earlier forms of trade and currency were more tied up in the personal relationships between the people trading and their culture, which makes for an impractical environment for a foreign mercenary with no local familiarity or trust to do business, hence the terrible power of gold's fungibility.