A Brief History of Money

9 hrs. 13 min.

Language Russian

Author Andrey Ostalsky

Narrator Dmitry Buzhinsky

Description

Perhaps the most exciting thriller “of all times and peoples” is the story of money—presented in an engaging way by Andrey Ostallsky, editor-in-chief of the Russian service of the BBC (2001–2009).

There is a huge advantage to utilitarianism: it helps you understand that the functions of money form a pyramid, at the base of which is the function of exchange, and upon it, like on a powerful foundation, stand all the others.

In Russian, the word “money” comes from the Turkish “tenge.” And its root has several meanings, including “balance,” “alignment,” and—“scales.” That is, an instrument that establishes the true measure of things and brings justice to their relationships with one another.

Secrets and paradoxes… These are not the words you think of when you consider something as ordinary as money. Every child knows that money is… it’s… But what are they, in fact? And isn’t it mystical that most modern money has no physical body? Money exists mainly somewhere in the virtual space—as electronic signals in the bottomless depths of computers, like an accounting entry, like debt. And do you know that every time you take out a loan from a bank, you thereby increase the total amount of money in society, contributing, among other things, to inflation… Or here’s another riddle: it turns out that almost any object, under certain conditions, can become money—at least for a while?

And then: what is the secret of their seemingly mystical, incredible power over people?

I was fortunate enough to spend two years of my life in the editorial office of the world’s most remarkable financial newspaper—“The Financial Times.” For two years I read it almost every day from cover to cover. And I tried to figure out all these surprising things, pestering the most patient English colleagues with questions. And now, at the BBC, I also carefully follow how this endless fascinating thriller unfolds—financial, monetary drama and comedy of humanity. A mysterious story of an incomprehensible, enigmatic object—money.

This book is not for economists, but for curious people. They won’t be bored!