Money 2.0: Emotional Currency

In this episode of Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam interviews anthropologist Bill Maurer about the origins and nature of money. They discuss the traditional economic story of barter and how anthropological research suggests that money emerged more as a means of tracking social obligations and relationships rather than simply facilitating transactions. Maurer explains how early forms of money, like shells in New Guinea and clay tablets in Mesopotamia, were used to record debts and obligations within communities and between individuals and authorities. The conversation explores how money and taxation have historically been tools of political power, illustrated by the redesign of the U.S. $20 bill to feature Harriet Tubman, and how gift-giving and seemingly inefficient forms of money, like gift cards, reinforce social bonds. Maurer argues that society thrives on ongoing, unsettled debts and relationships, contrasting this with the economist's view of money as a neutral medium for settling transactions.