How we exchange value and resources
6 key moments across 5 eras
Exchange based on relationships, reciprocity, and immediate needs. No concept of profit maximization. Wealth meant relationships, not accumulation.
"For most of history, economic activity strengthened social bonds rather than replacing them."
Coins enabled anonymous exchange beyond relationships. Markets created price signals. Trade expanded beyond local communities.
"Money made strangers into trading partners - and transformed social relations."
Amsterdam
Dutch East India Company created the joint-stock corporation - wealth without responsibility. Stock markets enabled capital accumulation at scale.
"Corporations gave capital a life independent of the humans who controlled it."
USA
Nixon ended dollar-gold convertibility. Money became pure fiat - backed by nothing but trust. Financialization accelerated.
"Modern money is a collective agreement, not a thing with inherent value."
Global
Financial system nearly collapsed. Bitcoin launched as alternative to bank-controlled money. Distrust in institutions deepened.
"The crisis revealed how much "the economy" depends on trust and collective belief."
Global
AI can perform knowledge work. Who captures the value? Platform monopolies, attention economics, and AI convergence reshape how wealth is created and distributed.
"When AI produces, what does human economic contribution become?"