ANTH 3220 Lecture 6: Week 6 - Money, Debt, and Religion
Document Summary
Backed money - worth equivalent amount in gold, silver, copper, etc. Fiat money - money that is backed by government law. Us dollar went off gold standard in 1971 - adopted at money system - can in theory print as much as they want, but there are problems. Heading towards a crisis point - unclear of how we"ll get out of it - at money era. Gold/silver backed currency also problematic - can lead to warfare, enslavement, etc. Stuck in a at system where money is based on debt - need to grow the money supply and economy. To stave off nancial collapse, money supply must grow continuously, or debt must be destroyed somehow. Eg. economies focused on growth - but excessive growth leads to problems - eg. Eg. economies focused on growth - but excessive growth leads to problems - eg. climate change and environmental degradation.