In Money We Trust
Based on Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
In this book, the author glazes over the history of mankind. Going over factors that ended up shaping the world as we know it.
Money being one of the biggest driving forces of today also gets an honourable mention. This blog is an effort to shed a bit more light on the topic.
Us vs Them
As the author mentions, Humans have always had the ability to divide themselves into two distinct groups: “us” and “them”.
These divisions can be based on where they live, what the colour of their skin is, what language they speak and in some special cases like in India, which caste they were born into.
But these sections are never enough. We have an innate itch to further classify people into sub-sections. If “we” are Asians and “they” are Europeans, “we” will waste no time in identifying ourselves as Indians while “they” become Pakistanis. This cycle of division can keep growing, especially in a land of diversity like India.
A Brief History of Money
Over long periods of human history, there has been this one factor that can unite people divided by the fiercest of issues. Money. It has been doing so since the beginning of time and civilizations.
An orphanage needs money as much as a terror group. Albeit for different reasons.
As the author states, people of different civilizations had different forms of money. It ranged from seeds of barley to cowrie shells to gold.
The book beautifully depicts how the adoption of precious metals (gold, silver etc.) happened over time. While these metals could not be eaten or woven or worn, they were very easy to store and travel with.
Traders travelled from one region to another in search of rare items that fetched high prices. These traders would notice how their currency did not hold much value in these other lands. This would present an opportunity to buy metals like gold cheap from foreign markets and sell at higher rates in their own.
This process however led to an increase in demand for the same metals in the newer markets, increasing their prices and hence people’s belief in their value.
Trade Unifies
While a Muslim and a Hindu may disagree on whether cattle should be used for meat or dairy, they might still use it for monetary benefit. All of us want to be rich irrespective of our ideologies.
Within the Republic of India, people of various faiths and social statuses engage in mutually beneficial trade. A capitalist society makes a car owner dependent on a skilled auto mechanic and vice-versa.
Trusting Money Over People
At the end however, the trust we place is in the currency rather than people paying us. You might trust the auto mechanic to fix your car, but you might not trust her enough to invite her for a dinner with your family.
The trust in money and trade comes from the laws laid down by the government. There are laws to protect your business interests from someone who might default on their payments. Similarly, laws against counterfeit currency protect you from fraudulent deals.
Conclusion
Hence, while we might be good at creating divisions, we are also capable of finding tools that bring unity. A nation of cultural, social and ideological diversity like India might be a great example of the same.
The modern capitalist democratic societies might have their own issues, but they do a great job of decreasing the number of differences among us.
And that just might be a good thing.
