Money

Money is one of the most important parts of a person's life. It is the reason most people get up early every day and drive off to a place they would rather not be and spend the entire day performing tasks they would rather not do and talking with people they would rather not be around. In fact, money – or at least the desire and need for it – controls much of our lives.

While money can tend to rule our lives, most of us are better off with it than without. Having money and the ability to purchase goods and services with it is the reason we do not have to spend much of every day hunting for food or skinning the hides from animals and weaving cloth to make clothes.

Many Forms

The history of money goes back almost to the dawn of mankind. As long ago as 9000 BCE, cattle was a primitive form of currency used by early man to interact with each other and exchange items of value. It was even used to purchase brides. In fact, for those who study language, the words "cattle" and "capital" are derived from a common root. Throughout history, money has taken many forms, from livestock and other types of types of useful commodities to objects prized for their ornamental quality to precious metals and objects desired because of their scarcity.

Today the specie that is exchanged as money has little intrinsic value in itself, but the monetary system in the United States still operates on the principle that what is called "legal tender" is backed up by the promise that it can be exchanged for something that is of value. Other modern forms of money include paper checks that are no more than written promises and electronic drafts that have no tangible substance at all.

Many Uses

Over the history of humanity, money also has served many purposes. For the most part it is an acknowledgement of some form of debt – debt to another member of the community, debt to a ruler, or a debt to God. One of the oldest uses of money was to pay for a bride. Bridal money was something given to the head of a family to compensate for the loss of a woman's services – again a type of debt.

Taxes were another form of debt. The money paid allowed someone to remain a member of the community and was imposed by the person who ruled that community. Money also was a way to pay for crimes. A person could compensate the community for transgressions by offering up something of value.