I'll try to add some thoughts to a previous statement, when I wrote that our belief system is the foundation, layer zero, of civilization, while money is its cornerstone, layer one.

The viewpoint I use here is anthropologist in its nature. I choose to use this as a starting point, since understanding money as a concept IMO should be based on a much broader analysis than for instance engineering or economics.

The reason why I think money is so important for civilization is because money makes it possible

- to transfer economic value quickly and over long distance

- to preserve economic value over long periods of time

- to give more options to participants in the game called "the generous tit for tat"

- to have voluntary exchange with strangers because it takes trust out of the equation.

- to quantify and calculate costs and interest

- to make exponentially better use of our individual and differing talents on the basis of specialization

- to make exponentially better use of those traits that separates us from other species, and most notably our appreciation of time preference

- to incentivize peaceful cooperation and disincentivize coercion, violence and war

- to capitalize on and unleash the value of private property

- to give gifts to those who need them, without having to identify what they need most

- to punish criminals in a humane way that focuses on compensating the victim

- to let people build on their exchange in trade to alson include exchange of values, knowledge and culture

In fact, I'm not able to wrap my mind around how a society can build something like a city without some form of efficient money.

Am I missing something in my list above?

Did this post trigger any ideas?

Feel free to let us know your thoughts, they are important to us.