New study suggests money originated to facilitate long-distance trade between strangers

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New study suggests money originated to facilitate long-distance trade between strangers

Scholars have argued about how money started for hundreds of years, with two main ideas attempting to explain where it came from. The first one, called the “money as commodity” idea, says that money started to fix the problems with bartering, allowing people to exchange goods more easily. The second one, known as the “chartalist” or “money as credit” idea, suggests that money was introduced by states to standardize taxation and tribute payments.…