As per andrewism, bartering works primarily off credit: I don’t need to bring my four cows to trade for your 1000 bushels of corn because if I lie about the conditions of my cows there’s gonna be an angry community at your back. Doing so inherently creates a high-trust society.
How is this “credit” not just a form of currency? Isn’t it just a stand-in for the value of your cows that you want to trade?
Doing so inherently creates a high-trust society.
High trust maybe, but extremely localized. It requires that a person who wants to trade knows the reputation - the credit rating - of every other person they might trade with. This model of trade can’t scale.
As per andrewism, bartering works primarily off credit: I don’t need to bring my four cows to trade for your 1000 bushels of corn because if I lie about the conditions of my cows there’s gonna be an angry community at your back. Doing so inherently creates a high-trust society.
How is this “credit” not just a form of currency? Isn’t it just a stand-in for the value of your cows that you want to trade?
High trust maybe, but extremely localized. It requires that a person who wants to trade knows the reputation - the credit rating - of every other person they might trade with. This model of trade can’t scale.
Verbal agreement, being nonphysical, isn’t a form of currency