The Origin of Money

 

Nearly everyone appreciates how vitally indispensable money as a common medium of exchange is for society. It allows for an extensive division of labour and large-scale production and is a necessary prerequisite for economic calculation. In short, money and civilization are inextricably linked. It is impossible to have civilization without money. 

But how is that money came about? One possible explanation of the historical origin of money

What Economics Is and What It Is Not

"Economics is not about things and tangible material objects; it is about men, their meanings, and actions. Goods, commodities, and wealth and all other notions of conduct are not elements of nature; they are elements of human meaning and conduct. He who wants to deal with them must not look at the external world; he must search for them in the meaning of acting men."

- Ludwig von Mises

In his seminal treatise, Human Action, Ludwig von Mises put forward a definition of economics as the scientific study of human action. Mises conceived of economics as a branch of what he called praxeology, his term for the general, formal science of human action. For Mises, it was of paramount importance that economic reasoning and analysis be predicated on human action and not material commodities and their physical properties.