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user-inactivated · 4326 days ago · link · · parent · post: The two constants, or, why money has value
Graeber's Debt mentions an interesting theory that the first state coinage was actually intended to generate a distributed supply system for military forces without paying attention to the complex logistical details. Pay your soldiers with valueless tokens, demand your subjects pay tribute to you (taxes) with those tokens, and the whole thing works itself out. It has the added benefit that the soldiers don't get stabbed when they try to "requisition" supplies because on the surface it appears to be a fair exchange.