I’m happy to hear criticism and to learn from that, but I wrote this myself. Took quite a while.
Re: why, I don’t think most people understand the very basics of the global economy in mechanical terms, and this was my attempt to explain those mechanics. I wanted the various pieces of the system to be motivated by understandable problems, hence the fable-like story.
I now see some folks were triggered by this stylized approach. Which is a pity. I think the simple setup is worth the payoff. My explanation of money creation, for example, matches the Bank of England’s whitepaper, and I am especially pleased with how the idea of a reserve currency both develops naturally and rhymes with earlier ideas lower in the hierarchy.
I'm sure Graeber is right about the ahistoricity of the orthodox just-so story of money, but I've always wondered if perhaps he misread the kind of claim that story is actually making.
What if economists don't really intend to make a factual historical claim? What if it's more like the principle of virtual work, if you take the analogy? What if it's saying, look, here are two possible configurations of the world: one with barter and one with monetary exchange. One of these configurations is "more stable" than the other. That's a reasonable explanation for "why" we use money, if you read "why" in a non-causal way.
Or maybe economists are straightforwardly careless historians. I don't know!
Your article was well worth the read. Thank you for that. It's merely a HN trend where lazy people who can't read an article bad-mouth it as AI. You'll find the lazy AI comment in every article's top first or second comment now. Don't bother justifying yourself, keep it up and keep writing.
I wouldn't say that it's the stylized approach tbh, but rather the lack of it?
Not to attack you, but it reads like a sudden unexpected glossary section. For which there is a place in the world, but only if it is expected (hence the opener).
If the goal was to have an explainer for people about stuff that most get wrong, then I think an opener alone would not be enough, though. For that, it's probably far too densely written. It could also use some illustrations for that (albeit that's optional. Engaging textbooks also do well without).
Truth be told, it does to me read more like an intellectual achievement you're proud of and not like a piece to in any way serve an audience.
Then again, if that was to be the goal, I agree that the fundamentals would be there; just waiting to be shuffled around a bit and be embedded into a context that pulls the reader's brain along the path you want them to follow.
hypfer · · focus · HN ↗
There might be a point in there, but it might also just be paragraphs of text with little structure joined together.
What's the narrative? What does this want to tell me? And why?
Something like an opening header block with 2-5 sentences would go a long way.
gwgundersen · · focus · HN ↗
Re: why, I don’t think most people understand the very basics of the global economy in mechanical terms, and this was my attempt to explain those mechanics. I wanted the various pieces of the system to be motivated by understandable problems, hence the fable-like story.
I now see some folks were triggered by this stylized approach. Which is a pity. I think the simple setup is worth the payoff. My explanation of money creation, for example, matches the Bank of England’s whitepaper, and I am especially pleased with how the idea of a reserve currency both develops naturally and rhymes with earlier ideas lower in the hierarchy.
jasonwatkinspdx · · focus · HN ↗
throwaway_7274 · · focus · HN ↗
What if economists don't really intend to make a factual historical claim? What if it's more like the principle of virtual work, if you take the analogy? What if it's saying, look, here are two possible configurations of the world: one with barter and one with monetary exchange. One of these configurations is "more stable" than the other. That's a reasonable explanation for "why" we use money, if you read "why" in a non-causal way.
Or maybe economists are straightforwardly careless historians. I don't know!
rdsubhas · · focus · HN ↗
aorloff · · focus · HN ↗
Money is about trust, not about the problems of bartering
akoboldfrying · · focus · HN ↗
hypfer · · focus · HN ↗
Not to attack you, but it reads like a sudden unexpected glossary section. For which there is a place in the world, but only if it is expected (hence the opener).
If the goal was to have an explainer for people about stuff that most get wrong, then I think an opener alone would not be enough, though. For that, it's probably far too densely written. It could also use some illustrations for that (albeit that's optional. Engaging textbooks also do well without).
Truth be told, it does to me read more like an intellectual achievement you're proud of and not like a piece to in any way serve an audience.
Then again, if that was to be the goal, I agree that the fundamentals would be there; just waiting to be shuffled around a bit and be embedded into a context that pulls the reader's brain along the path you want them to follow.
JimTheMan · · focus · HN ↗