Money
"What is money anyway, and where and why did it originate? According to Jacob Goldstein, this made-up thing has evolved over centuries and takes different forms based on technological advances, the needs of society, and often the crazy ideas of outliers on the fringes. Told through witty, historical anecdotes, Goldstein demystifies this ever-evolving tool from the invention of the first coins in Mesopotamia, to how China invented paper money centuries before it appeared in the west, how at one point in Sweden men carried giant "coins" on their backs to pay for goods, to the gold standard, pound sterling, origins of the Euro, mutual funds, bitcoin and a cashless society. Money presents entertaining tales of fascinating characters who fundamentally changed our monetary systems such as Genghis Khan, John Law, a convicted murderer and professional gambler, the Luddites, and the anarchist cyberpunks who created bitcoin. Through these major movements we see the rise and fall of various financial institutions: central banks, the stock market, the Federal Reserve, and the shadow institutions like Lehman Brothers that helped create the financial crisis of 2008.
Stats for nerds
7recommend
11mentions
8people
2020–2024years
91% recommend9% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- > the book “Debt: The First 5,000 Years” by David Graeber
Also would recommend Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing:
> Money only works because we all agree to believe in it. In Money, Jacob Goldstein shows how money is a useful fiction that has shaped societies for thousands of years, from the rise of coins in ancient Greece to the first stock market in Amsterdam to the emergence of shadow banking in the 21st century.
> At the heart of the story are the fringe thinkers and world leaders who reimagined money. Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor, created paper money backed by nothing, centuries before it appeared in the west. John Law, a professional gambler and convicted murderer, brought modern money to France (and destroyed the country's economy). The cypherpunks, a group of radical libertarian computer programmers, paved the way for bitcoin.
* https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/50358103
And The power of gold : the history of an obsession (and Bernstein's other books):
> Incorporating myth, history and contemporary investigation, Bernstein tells the story of how human beings have become intoxicated, obsessed, enriched, impoverished, humbled and proud for the sake of gold. From the past to the future, Bernstein's portrayal of gold is intimately linked to the character of humankind.
- Check out the book “Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing“ by Jacob Goldstein. It explores this topic and more.
- > You are given currency coupons in exchange for your work, and then more of those coupons are just forged than correspond to actual work having been done, thereby defrauding you out of the value of your work, also commonly called theft of service.
All currency is made up. Even gold, or bitcoin, or giant rocks:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones
The only thing that has "inherent" value to humans is air/oxygen, shelter, water, and food. Everything else is psychological projection for convenience.
See The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession by Bernstein:
* https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249245.The_Power_of_Gold
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_L._Bernstein
And Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing by Goldstein:
- Some good books on the general topic that I've read over the years are Debt: The First 5000 Years by Graeber:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt:_The_First_5000_Years
Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing by Goldstein (also of NPR's Planet Money):
* https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358103-money
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Goldstein
And The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession by Bernstein:
> In this exciting book, the late Peter L. Bernstein tells the story of history's most coveted, celebrated, and inglorious asset: gold. From the ancient fascinations of Moses and Midas through the modern convulsions caused by the gold standard and its aftermath, gold has led many of its most eager and proud possessors to a bad end. And while the same cycle of obsession and desperation may reverberate in today's fast-moving, electronically-driven markets, the role of gold in shaping human history is the striking feature of this tumultuous tale. Such is the power of gold.
* https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Power+of+Gold:+The+History+o...
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_L._Bernstein
Bernstein was also the author of Against The Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk.
- > It has definitely changed my view on what money is and how it came to be.
You may be interested in Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing by Jacob Goldstein (of NPR's Planet Money).
* https://bookshop.org/books/money-the-true-story-of-a-made-up...
- > There he argues that moving off the gold standard was a bad idea in many ways apparently unrelated to money.
See Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing by Jacob Goldstein (of NPR's Planet Money):
* https://bookshop.org/books/money-the-true-story-of-a-made-up...
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Goldstein
From what I've read on the topic, gold (and 'hard money' in general) is generally not a good in most circumstances. Yes, if your mint/central bank takes orders from the government to create more money it can lead to bad things, but generally that disaster only needs to happen once before everyone realizes how bad an idea it is and probably never does it again.
Recommend the book. Debt: The First 5,000 Years is also worth checking out:
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