Re: justice, justice... Was: Anti-Semitism in the Neo-Confederate movement.

"Herman Rubin" <hrubin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:dpjk27$724m@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> In article <dpjalt$ogo$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> Rafael <jmalfatto@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> >"Steve Goldfarb" <slg@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> >news:dpi7ti$rap$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >> In <dphgb3$5rks@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> hrubin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Herman
> >Rubin) writes:
>
> >> >In many African tribes, wealth is stuff. That we have
> >> >a more portable means of exchange does not make it any
> >> >different. A person's wealth is not the amount of money
> >> >he can control, but includes other aspects.
>
> >> Wealth is often stuff, but not all stuff is wealth. I think wealth
> >> involves verbs, not just nouns - that why I'm saying that without
markets,
> >> there is no wealth, only stuff. And I don't follow Rafael's
> >> differentiation between money-based trade and barter, I don't see how
it
> >> makes any difference.
>
> >Firstly, barter is the exception rather than the rule in foraging
societies
> >(which, again, represent about 99.9% of human history or prehistory).
>
> Barter was quite prevalent in the 2000+ years of the late
> prehistory of the Fertile Crescent, Egypt, Anatolia, Persia,
> Western India, and more, and the history before the use of
> a weight of precious metal as a medium of exchange.

Which ignores both many thousands of years of human existence prior and
every society which retained the hunter-gatherer mode of habitation during
and thereafter.

> >Secondly, barter is usually informal - not the kind of stand or shop one
> >normally expects of a market.
>
> There were trade caravans, and a merchant class, who kept
> records of how much of what they owned.

So? Many more did not (e.g. neighbors exchanging wares in a tribal village
setting) and still do not to this day.

> >Thirdly, (as the saying goes) money changes everything. It's a wonderful
> >convenience, but those who have the power to create it and lend it are
not
> >'producers' in the traditional sense (as Aristotle warned).
>
> Aristotle did not have everything right.

He sure nabbed that one, however.

Rafael


.

Relevant Pages

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