Behavior of People and Money: Chapter 1

Emily Wilburn Global Politics Mr. Roddy 8 April 2020
The Ascent of Money: Chapter 1 The video we watched focussed on how money came to play such a major role in our everyday lives. The narrator describes financial history to be the essential back story of all histories. He focuses on how throughout all of history up until the present day, money has been an indispensable part of man. Money has forever been intertwined with human behavior. It is the reason societies have been built, wars have begun, and countries have developed. Money plays such a massive role in our world today. It in a way an assumption that the more money you have, the better of a life you will live. While not everyone will agree with this statement, the amount of money you have influences the family you grow up in and what level of education you will receive.

Something that caught my attention was when the Incas were brought up. They were one of the most powerful societies, yet they had no concept of money. The Incas did not understand why the Europeans wanted access to what they thought was just a shiny material but the Europeans saw this to be a form of “portable power.” These words are what caught my attention and made me question what really is money? And what does money mean? It made me realize that the whole concept of money is such a blur. I see this as a great example for looking at human interactions with money. The Europeans now had these concepts of wealth, money, and power and it caused them to want these materials. Could this be considered greed? Later the narrator talks about how money has no true meaning except for what someone is willing to make of it. This idea really stuck with me for the entire rest of the video.
Money has always held so much power no matter what the physical form of payment was. Today our bankers are so incredibly powerful and hold so much power within societies. An example of this is how back In the Medici's time bankers were so unbelievably powerful they owned Florence This video and text makes me excited to learn more about financial history. I hope to gain a better understanding to as of what money really means to people and how it has shaped our world today.

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