HIST BC 3116y Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: South Sea Company, William Davenant, Central Force
10 Sep 2016
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History of money lecture 18 28 march 2016. 17th century: formation of a new culture of credit. Things that aren"t quintessentially designed to be commodities were being treated as such. Contemporary responses to the new culture of credit. Castle building in the sky: based on faith and trust, figments of the imagination, fear of a virus-like doubt that would ruin the whole system, mental construct. Imagined community social contract: instability, dependence, corruption. As you move away from religion as the guide to society: people began to selfishly pursue their own interests, credit community. Act prudently, honestly, repay debts on time. Morally obliged to act justly toward one another. Benedict anderson: public sphere, newspapers, mechanisms of connectedness. Laura brown reading (gender: likeness to a courted woman; if you treat her badly she will never come back again. Balance sheets are the mechanism by which people tried to force down credit on paper: ephemeral, almost like gravity.
