The History of Money

Discussion in 'Property Market Economics' started by Beelzebub, 7th Jul, 2015.

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  1. Beelzebub

    Beelzebub Well-Known Member

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    Hi guys

    Here is a fascinating documentary about the history of money. It's called The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson (conservative Harvard professor of History who specialises in economic history). The docco is based on his book.

    Understanding the history of the thing we are all trying to accumulate more of, I believe, is important for your understanding of wider macroeconomic risk factors. After all, as they say, history tends to repeat itself. Or maybe being a history major at uni and a current history teacher I place a higher emphasis on it than others.

    Enjoy



    Now it's a fair bit of watching. Six parts in all so, if you just want to watch the bits that interest you here is a taster of what each episode is about:


    Ep. 1: Dreams of avarice[edit]
    From Shylock's pound of flesh to the loan sharks of Glasgow, from the "promises to pay" on Babylonian clay tablets to the Medici banking system. Professor Ferguson explains the origins of credit and debt and why credit networks are indispensable to any civilization.

    Ep. 2: Human bondage[edit]
    How did finance become the realm of the masters of the universe? Through the rise of the bond market in Renaissance Italy. With the advent of bonds, war finance was transformed and spread to north-west Europe and across the Atlantic. It was the bond market that made the Rothschilds the richest and most powerful family of the 19th century.

    Ep. 3: Blowing bubbles[edit]
    Why do stock markets produce bubbles and busts? Professor Ferguson goes back to the origins of the joint stock company in Amsterdam and Paris. He draws telling parallels between the current stock market crash and the 18th century Mississippi Bubble of Scottish financier John Law and the 2001 Enron bankruptcy. He shows why humans have a herd instinct when it comes to investment, and why no one can accurately predict when the bulls might stampede.

    Ep. 4: Risky business[edit]
    Life is a risky business – which is why people take out insurance. But faced with an unexpected disaster, the state has to step in. Professor Ferguson travels to post-Katrina New Orleans to ask why the free market can't provide some of the adequate protection against catastrophe. His quest for an answer takes him to the origins of modern insurance in the early 19th century and to the birth of the welfare state in post-war Japan.

    Ep. 5: Safe as houses[edit]
    It sounded so simple: give state-owned assets to the people. After all, what better foundation for a property-owning democracy than a campaign of privatisation encompassinghousing? An economic theory says that markets can't function without mortgages, because it's only by borrowing against their assets that entrepreneurs can get their businesses off the ground. But what if mortgages are bundled together and sold off to the highest bidder?

    Ep. 6: Chimerica[edit]
    Niall Ferguson investigates the globalisation of the Western economy and the uncertain balance between the important component countries of China and the US. In examining the last time globalisation took hold – before World War One, he finds a notable reversal, namely that today money is pouring into the English-speaking economies from thedeveloping world, rather than out.
     
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  2. KDP

    KDP Well-Known Member

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    Thanks. Will watch when I can.
     
  3. Beelzebub

    Beelzebub Well-Known Member

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    No worries, It's a lot of watching but it's awesome.

    He argues that history is dominated by finance more so than politics, people and armies.
     
  4. Sashatheman

    Sashatheman Well-Known Member

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    I am a big fan of documentaries so will definitely give it a watch when I get a chance.
    Thanks.
     
  5. C-mac

    C-mac Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for this mate!