Seems related: Debt: The First 5000 Years by David Graeber

https://www.amazon.com/Debt-Updated-Expanded-First-Years/dp/...

The concept of "debt" has a long history that is surprising and illuminating. A really excellent book.

For a shorter version, see his talk at Google: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZIINXhGDcs

Thanks for the tip, I can suggest (after getting some introductory anthropology reading) this as well https://www.amazon.it/Debt-First-5-000-Years/dp/1612194192

Debt: The First 5000 years is also a great read on the topic.

https://www.amazon.com/Debt-Updated-Expanded-First-Years/dp/...

Interesting bit about money since it's mentioned in there: Most economics give the same version in the notes which is that money just kind of _sprang up_ out of no where to solve this problem of trade, but it's actually very likely that Credit, and therefore also Debt, is the source of "money". That money only became more important as trade extended from tribes and to strangers we didn't trust. Also that the world goes through cycles of being currency heavy and credit heavy in their transactions of which right now we're living through a new credit heavy cycle which is hard to predict the outcomes of.

Recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Debt-Updated-Expanded-First-Years/dp/...

Ironic that the the production of this article was itself a bullshit job - summarising work that does not need summary, presumably to fill a contractual requirement to submit x articles per year.

David Graeber is great. Go read the real thing, either in the Guardian [0] or one of the books. His history of debt is mind-bending.

[0] https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/may/04/i-had-to-guard...

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Debt-Updated-Expanded-First-Years/dp/...

I highly recommend Debt: the first 5000 years https://www.amazon.com/Debt-Updated-Expanded-First-Years/dp/...

and Heilbroner's Worldly Philosophers https://www.amazon.com/Worldly-Philosophers-Economic-Thinker...