Economics, Anthropology and the Origin of Money as a Bargaining Counter (Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy)

"For many decades economists have disputed with economic anthropologists over the origins of money. Economists claim that money emerged from barter exchange; anthropologists claim that it originated as a 'unit of account' in the temples and palaces of ancient Mesopotamia. This book argues that money originated as a bargaining counter in a system of money-bargaining, emerging almost seamlessly from barter-bargaining. This is not the 'money' of mainstream economic conception - a 'veil' cast over a system of resource allocation defined in mathematical terms. Confidence in the bargaining counter is sustained through 'support-bargaining,' a process in which individuals seek the support of their associates but seek at the same time to advance their own interests. A comprehensive 'Introduction to Support-Bargaining and Money-Bargaining' is provided by the work. The arrival of coin-money is recognised by many as a crucial event in the history of mankind, and it is argued here that the distinctive character of support-bargaining in ancient Greek city states made possible the introduction of coin-money. The dependence of coin-money on a particular form of support-bargaining also suggests the reason why coin-money was not introduced much earlier, given that the technology for producing coins was available long before their adoption. This book will be of great interest to researchers in the history and origins of money, banking and economic theory more broadly. Patrick Spread graduated from Trinity College, Oxford, UK and received a PhD from the London Business School. This is his ninth book based on the theory of support-bargaining and money-bargaining. In his career he has mixed theoretical research with work as an economic adviser and consultant to governments and economic development agencies"-- Provided by publisher For many decades economists have disputed with economic anthropologists over the origins of money. Economists claim that money emerged from barter exchange; anthropologists claim that it originated as a ‘unit of account’ in the temples and palaces of ancient Mesopotamia. This book argues that money originated as a bargaining counter in a system of money-bargaining, emerging almost seamlessly from barter-bargaining. This is not the ‘money’ of mainstream economic conception – a ‘veil’ cast over a system of resource allocation defined in mathematical terms.Confidence in the bargaining counter is sustained through ‘support-bargaining,’ a process in which individuals seek the support of their associates but seek at the same time to advance their own interests. A comprehensive ‘Introduction to Support-Bargaining and Money-Bargaining’ is provided by the work. The arrival of coin-money is recognised by many as a crucial event in the history of mankind, and it is argued here that the distinctive character of support-bargaining in ancient Greek city states made possible the introduction of coin-money. The dependence of coin-money on a particular form of support-bargaining also suggests the reason why coin-money was not introduced much earlier, given that the technology for producing coins was available long before their adoption.This book will be of great interest to researchers in the history and origins of money, banking and economic theory more broadly. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Information 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 Introduction 12 Notes 18 References 19 Introduction to Support-Bargaining and Money-Bargaining 20 Support-Bargaining... 20 ...and Money-Bargaining... 24 ...their Interlinking... 27 ...and Their Evolution 28 Notes 28 References 29 1 Support, Support-Bargaining and Social Debt 30 Childhood and the Assumption of Social Debt 32 Situation and Interests 34 Loyalty and Rigidity 35 Notes 37 References 37 2 Support, Violence, Homer, Malinowski 39 Material Aspects of Violence 43 Military Organisation 44 The Homeric Code and Material Intrusions 47 A Pacific Alternative: The Kula Code 52 Notes 58 References 60 3 Support and the Organisation of Faith 62 Religious Organisation 65 Notes 71 References 72 4 Intellectual Support-Bargaining and Frames of Reference 73 The ‘Frames of Reference’ Idea 76 Theories, Frames and Situations 79 Socialism, Polanyi and Economic Anthropologists 83 Support-Bargaining and Money-Bargaining as Frame of Reference 84 Historical Frames 87 Notes 90 References 91 5 Polanyi, Gifts and Markets 93 Speaking Frankly 97 Polanyi: Reciprocity and Redistribution 99 Polanyi: Embedding and Interlinking 103 Theory and Practice: Microeconomics and Macroeconomics 107 Transformation By Companies 110 Markets as Confluence 113 Notes 115 References 118 6 Words, Maths and Money 120 Linguistic Codification of Information 124 Word Association in the Acceptance of Money 126 Sin, Debt and the Christian Church 127 By Association: Compensation and Taxation 128 Graeber’s Word Association 130 Visual Codification in the Acceptance of Money 132 Mathematical Codification of Information 133 Ingham’s Sociological Approach 135 Notes 142 References 144 7 Barter, Credit and Money 146 Money as Credit 148 Commodity and Credit 153 Complement and Conflict in Support-Bargaining and Money-Bargaining 157 Barter and the Origins of Money 159 Deferred Barter 162 ‘Primitive Money’ and National Money 164 The Purchasing Power of Money 165 Barter in Modern Times 166 The Emergence of Money From Barter 169 Barter in Congo and New Guinea 170 Makeshift and Money 172 Money and Coin-Money 174 French Institutionalist Theories of Money 177 Notes 180 References 184 8 Graeber, Smith and Capitalism 187 Barter, Credit and Politics 192 Not Ending Capitalism 193 Notes 199 References 200 9 State Money and Corporate Budgets 202 Hudson and Heichelheim 208 Organisations and Budgeting 214 Organisational Debt and the Origin of Money 216 Money Valued in Taxation 218 Attitudes to Taxation 222 Mercenaries and the Origin of Money 225 Notes 228 References 230 10 Knapp, Keynes and the State Theory of Money 232 Knapp’s State Theory of Money 232 Categories and Chartalism 235 Chartalism and Politics 236 Support-Bargaining, Acceptance and Purchasing Power 240 Keynes and the State Theory of Money 243 Definitions and Frames of Reference 247 The Sparkle of Precious Metals 250 Definitions and the Significance of Coinage 253 Definition and Redefinition in the Thesis and General Theory 254 The Influence of the Frame of Reference 256 Notes 257 References 259 11 Coins and Greek Feasts 261 Greek Flux and Mesopotamian Stability 263 Greek Feasts and the Adoption of Coinage 264 Opponents of Coinage 268 Pre-Coinage Money in the Near East 270 Retail Trade and the Denominations of Coins 271 Coinage and the State 273 Coinage and Individual Advantage 275 The Individualism of Credit 277 Exchange and Definitions in Finley’s Ancient Economy 279 Alternative Definitions 282 Economics, Money-Bargaining and Slavery 284 Notes 287 References 290 12 Conclusion: Money as a Bargaining Counter 293 Putting Bargaining Counters Into Circulation 300 The Earliest Bargaining Counters 300 Gold and Silver 302 Paper Representing Gold 305 Credit, Purchasing Power and Dependable Debtors 308 Circulation of a ‘Money of Account’ 310 Notes 312 References 313 Index 315 support-bargaining;,money-bargaining;,economic,development;,history,and,origins,of,money;,economic,theory;,banking;,economic,anthropology;,heterodox,economics;,resource,allocation;,bargaining,counter;,coin-money support-bargaining,money-bargaining,economic development,history and origins of money,economic theory,banking,economic anthropology,heterodox economics,resource allocation,bargaining counter,coin-money