The Origin of Money

Nurseries of Economics – Stanley Ravi

The primary business of a king or ruler is:

To protect a territory with defined boundaries.

Protection becomes essential during of shortage of food
and water in neighboring regions. Climatic change
effects regions without considering political boundaries.

During shortages (particularly for addictions or sustainability of the species),
we do away with rules and agreements, cross territories and boundaries,
at first stealthily and later defiantly.

A person who can organize to protect and sustain
at a time of food and water shortage for a significant
number of people consistently, will establish himself or herself as the ruler,
he or she will demand and get allegiance.

A simple way get allegiance is to issue a token.
This token can be a piece of leather, a metal and something that
cannot be duplicated easily. Any attempts to duplicate
can lead to great punishments.

This token, coin or currency is issued by the ruler in exchange
for goods and returned for the protection of an individual’s
family and property. Can this token of protection be
The Origin of Money?

During the conflict, usually after immense blood shed,
loss of life and property; after a lower demand for resources
takes shape. Many hard and difficult lessons are learned.

After the conflict is resolved. The ruler's authority gets more
established and recognized. He or she issues more tokens, gets more
gifts and products from more territories, the token issuer or ruler establishes
more territories, offers more benefits for the people, makes territories look more 

attractive and organised. The ruler displays his or her strength to opponents.
He or she uses methods and resources to constantly keep this territory
brimming with activity. Can we call this economics?
Is this how and where money originates?

It is inconvenient to exchange my hard work in extracting
precious metals for your hard work of producing grains, fruit, vegetables
and maybe meat. When I have plenty of food I won't mind
exchanging food for ornaments, but your gold won't work during a food shortage.

Connecting barter with money is missing a link.
The king's head doesn't fit into the barter system.

Please consider this, when my house, my livelihood,
my children, their food and water is threatened,
I will give anything to the anyone who protects my territory.

The protector issues the money with his or her head.
Money applies only within a territory of governance and protection.
When the territory goes, the money vanishes.

It's a long story, about modern money, a currency pegged
to a barrel of oil? Threatening and capturing territories
with fast and heavy transportation. Luring territories with
quick and heavy cultivation of food, using more than
10 calories for every calorie of food, possible only with crude oil,
the production of crude is almost in absolute terms
connected to global economy.