Money became a sort of standard used to measure or compare debts but also a mean settle them. This is how I 'd like to introduce the so-called Axial Age. Graeber uses this name given by the German philosopher Karl Jaspers to the period between 800 BC and 600 AD that was marked by strong changes in most societies.
Coinage became an enduring and efficient method until war times, money as coinage became a very useful and widespread tool to pay soldiers on far away campaigns, thus eliminating the need for an additional army to feed and supply them thus Bullion arose as an article of war, not as a more effective way to settle …show more content…
The main characteristic of the Middle Ages, according to Graeber is the decrease in the importance of money as an exchange tool, being substituted by other practices of social trust, as it was also in China with the creation of Paper Money that was not the creation of the state but of individuals as a credit instrument that allowed the expansion of commerce and as result, the well-being of the society so much that China enjoyed the highest standard of living for centuries, being surpassed by, lets say, England, only until the 18th century
The main contribution, a very important one, of the Middle Ages towards modern economy is the creation of the notion of a working Free Market and credit based mostly on good faith and trust, not controlled by the