barter

Since I didn't build up any wealth through the barter economy, I had nothing to steal.

It actually turns out that barter is one of the founding myths of modern economics.

Up to a point, yes. But the whole point of money is that it serves as an intermediary for value, so that you don't need to do barter.

In which case you are actually trading in gold as a commodity; the technical term is barter.

If we actually used a barter economy then I would starve, or be reduced to sweating in a field growing plants.

Money is the medium that enables efficient transactions where barter failed.

When people trade in a community, credit systems predate currencies, which predates barter.

For example, barter exchanges are taxable by the government, even if no actual money changed hands.

>On what evidence, on whose word, should we believe this?Pure capitalism is barter amongst two consenting and legitimate property owners.

It is absolutely true that in order to survive you will need either an income stream or an ability to successfully barter for your basic food, clothing, and shelter needs.

You can pay with barter, coins or large stones, as long as the negotiation is acceptable to both parties -- and when you pay for eight pounds of foie gras, you'd better be getting it weighed from an inspected scale.

Author expected to find one item becoming defacto currency, but that does not happen.- Because barter exists, you can express the price of items relative to other items in the game, ie 1 lazer gun = 2 hats.

If a currency is extremely volatile this function is diminished because when you immediately have to get rid of your money to hold some kind of stable value you get closer and closer to a barter system.