Invention of Money- Aime Lonsdorf

Posted on January 18, 2012 by aimelonsdorf

While idea the fei, the large stone money used by the islanders of Yap, seems irrational to those accustomed to the portable paper and coined money system of Western civilizations, the two are relatively the same. To the most people, large stone rocks have no value of wealth but to the people of Yap the dollar system is useless. Both systems were established to relay the concept of wealth within communities. It was understood by the people of Yap that the fei, since they were often large and heavy, did not need to be in the possession of its owner; the Western world acknowledges this idea by imposing banking systems. When the Germans demanded that the roads of Yap become paved, they placed a large red X on each fei of the island, claiming ownership until the roads became paved. In America, this would be known as a tax. Overall, it does not matter what monetary system is active within a community, as long as it is recognized throughout the entire society.

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1 Response to Invention of Money- Aime Lonsdorf

  1. davidbdale's avatar davidbdale says:
    January 23, 2012 at 5:53 am

    The first four words of your essay don’t make any sense, Aime, but the rest of your opening sentence is quite nice. It makes a general cultural claim instead of expressing your personal impressions, which sets just the right tone for an academic comment. I would quibble that two things can be relatively similar but not relatively the same. You could say they’re more similar than different if you like.

    Your phrase “have no value of wealth” is very confusing, and your sentence compares large stone rocks to the dollar system instead of comparing rocks to dollars or the rock system to the dollar system.

    Does “relay the concept of wealth” mean anything more than “represent wealth”?

    I like your very subtle “within communities” because in just two words it supports your claim that the physical tokens of wealth, whether rocks or dollars, make sense to those who use them if not to others.

    The first half of your “It was understood” sentence is very strong, Aime, except that you refer to the fei both as singular (its owner) and plural (they). The second half doesn’t make its point clearly because “banking systems” is too vague to be understood as “imposing” anything like the concept of ownership without physical possession. Clarify please.

    While it’s true the Germans painted Xs on fei (black Xs, I think), your source doesn’t say they painted every fei.

    Taxes aren’t returned to taxpayers when conditions are met, Aime. The Xs are similar to liens, which place a claim on a large item of value, such as a house, ownership of which can’t be transferred without satisfying the lien. Liens are removed when they’re satisfied.

    Your conclusion is perfectly sound. The real value of any money is that the society that uses it is willing to accept it as payment.

    Cab drivers in Egypt LOVE to be tipped in American dollars, much more so than in Egyptian pounds, but they won’t take a dollar coin because they know nobody else will take a dollar coin.

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