Simon Black – One of the more unfortunate developments in human civilization over the last century is the devolution of money.

In fact, the word ‘money’ has now become synonymous with those funny pieces of paper that are conjured out of thin air by unelected central bankers.

Or even more ridiculous, ‘money’ has become the electronic representation of that paper.

Think about your bank account balance; it’s not like the bank has all that paper currency sitting in its vault.

The ‘money’ in your account doesn’t even really exist. There’s just enough of a thin layer of confidence in the system (at the moment) that this is a widely accepted practice.

It seems rather strange when you think about it. Though for thousands of years, early civilizations had some pretty wild ideas about money.

There are examples from history of our ancestors using everything from animals skins, to salt, to giant stones, as their form of ‘money’.

Though I suppose these weren’t any more ridiculous than our version of money– pieces of paper that don’t even really exist, controlled by unelected central bankers. Continue reading →