And in that setting, it’s less about the mechanics of measuring the value of individual items and more about balancing the number of favors owed to/from each member of the community. The magnitude of those favors definitely scale according to the material value of the items flowing through the favors – but it’s a secondary, not primary, concern.
It’s true that money can be anything we decide to agree upon, but it’s not as a stand-in for valuable goods. It’s as a stand-in for “credit against my debt of favors owed”.
I think the key thing here is the myth that money was invented to optimize an unwieldy barter economy. Money isn’t actually a tool for ad hoc person-to-person trade, but for trade among members of a community.
And in that setting, it’s less about the mechanics of measuring the value of individual items and more about balancing the number of favors owed to/from each member of the community. The magnitude of those favors definitely scale according to the material value of the items flowing through the favors – but it’s a secondary, not primary, concern.
It’s true that money can be anything we decide to agree upon, but it’s not as a stand-in for valuable goods. It’s as a stand-in for “credit against my debt of favors owed”.
I’ll have to take some time to read and digest this, but you didn’t answer my direct question :p