Summary of Jacob Goldstein's Money

What is money? This question is often asked and can take on an existential dimension. In Money (2020), Jacob Goldstein offers a thorough account of the birth, evolution, and use of money across the ages, from Ancient Greece to the twenty-first century, from copper coins to digital currencies. Money is essentially a made-up aspect of humanity that has very real and tangible effects. It exists purely because of collective choices made by different populations at different moments in history. Often, it’s just a few people who come up with alternatives that are adopted as usable money. These choices have led to the economies we currently live in, and the future depends on the choices being made in our modern societies.