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@ Christopher Clifton
2023-07-15 00:38:23
I think it's worth clarifying that pure barter economies likely never existed in reality. In his book "Human Action," Ludwig von Mises refers to a theoretical "state of barter" to explain the limitations of direct exchange and highlight the benefits of money. However, it's doubtful that any economist, and certainly not those within the Austrian School, would argue that humans ever lived in a state of pure barter.
A society living in a state of pure barter is akin to a society living without any language. You can use that theoretical society in order to illustrate the benefits of language, but claiming that such society actually existed would be nonsensical. Language has always been an integral part of human and pre-human societies. language evolved alongside intelligence, becoming recognizable as "language" once it reached a certain complexity, but the fundamental elements of language were always there. The same can be said for money, or at least the fundamental elements that give rise to the concept of money.
Intelligent beings act purposefully, and every action denotes an exchange of time, energy, resources, or social graces. The counterparty to this exchange can be oneself or another entity. Exchanging with other entities creates a market and is only possible when all participants abide by a unified set of rules, whether it be through kinship, social norms, or laws. Markets, in this sense, have existed as long as organized systems have, and under these market conditions, money—or at least the conceptual underpinnings of money—emerges almost instantaneously.
Therefore, money, at least in a conceptual sense, has likely existed for about as long as language has. They both serve as fundamental structures enabling complex social interaction and organization. They are defining characteristics of humanity and perhaps intelligence, and we must never, ever, allow anyone to legislated or regulated them.
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