In Homer, values of ships, armour, ect is measured in oxen. But oxen are never used as a medium of exchange. Because the oxen, as sacred/sacrificial animals, represent absolute/eternal value?
the debt as religion theory holds that we are born in debt, either to the gods who gave us life, or the kings who represent the gods, or to the society which allows us to be who we are.
Primitive money is not used to create market economies - gift giving handles the exchange of goods - but to pay moral debts (arrange marriages, settle disputes, rec omstate from injury)
The english word pay comes from pacify.
Law codes from the 600-900s give very specific values for common day things, but few of these were marketed (roof beams?)
Yet this also includes great hubris. How can I be separate from the universe, and thus negotiate one-on-one with it? If I did repay this "debt" would I then achieve an autonomous existence, outside of all creation??
No comments:
Post a Comment