Summary of Felix Martin's Money

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The Pacific island of Yap was one of the most remote and inaccessible inhabited places on earth in the beginning of the twentieth century. It was not until 1869 that the first European trading post was established in the Yap archipelago.

#2 The economy of Yap was extremely undeveloped. There were only three products available for trade: fish, coconuts, and sea cucumbers. There were no other exchangeable commodities, and no agriculture or arts and crafts. Yet the island had a highly developed monetary system.

#3 The fei was a form of currency that was extremely difficult to transport. It was not necessary for its owner to reduce it to possession. After concluding a bargain that involved the price of a fei too large to be conveniently moved, its new owner was content to accept the bare acknowledgment of ownership.

#4 The monetary system of Yap, which was described by Furness in his book The Yapese Money, was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was a system in which wealth was represented by an enormous fei, which was lying at the bottom of the sea.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669394662

IRB Media

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Insights on Felix Martin's Money

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The Pacific island of Yap was one of the most remote and inaccessible inhabited places on earth in the beginning of the twentieth century. It was not until 1869 that the first European trading post was established in the Yap archipelago.

#2

The economy of Yap was extremely undeveloped. There were only three products available for trade: fish, coconuts, and sea cucumbers. There were no other exchangeable commodities, and no agriculture or arts and crafts. Yet the island had a highly developed monetary system.

#3

The fei was a form of currency that was extremely difficult to transport. It was not necessary for its owner to reduce it to possession. After concluding a bargain that involved the price of a fei too large to be conveniently moved, its new owner was content to accept the bare acknowledgment of ownership.

#4

The monetary system of Yap, which was described by Furness in his book The Yapese Money, was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was a system in which wealth was represented by an enormous fei, which was lying at the bottom of the sea.

#5

Money is a simple and powerful story that explains where it comes from. It was originally anything that was universally accepted as payment, but gold and silver were the most common choices because they are durable, malleable, portable, and rare.

#6

The theory of money’s origins and nature is not just a historical curiosity. It is found today in virtually all mainstream textbooks of economics. It has provided the basis for the branch of economics known as macroeconomics, which seeks to explain economic booms and busts.

#7

The conventional theory of money is very simple and intuitive, but it is entirely false. It is a bit troubling that so many people who have spent years studying economics regurgitate this theory.

#8

The idea that money emerged from barter is false. There is no evidence that it ever happened, and an enormous amount of evidence suggesting that it did not.

#9

The story of Yap raises serious doubts about the conventional theory of money’s origins. The conventional theory holds that money is a thing chosen from amongst the universe of commodities to serve as a medium of exchange. But the stone money of Yap does not fit this scheme.

#10

Money is not a commodity, but the system of credit accounts and clearing it represents. It