Trophic Theory of Money

by Brian Czech

Steady State Herald readers are familiar with the theory that money originates from an agricultural surplus that frees hands for the division of labor—and thenceforth the exchanging of money. This trophic theory of money (TTOM) helps us understand not only the historical origins of money, such as in Mesopotamia (the “Cradle of Cash”), but also the annual origins of “warranted money” in the grain belts of the world.

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by Alix Underwood

Like the economy of nature, the human economy has a “trophic” structure. In nature, nutrition and energy flow from plants to herbivores to carnivores, with each of these comprising a trophic level of the ecosystem. In the human economy, materials and energy flow from agriculture and other extractive activities to heavy manufacturing to light manufacturing. Both economies include service providers, such as pollinators in nature and the transportation sector in the human economy.

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by Alix Underwood

Though it’s easy to lose sight of, with our language and culture and smartphones, Homo sapiens is an animal species that exists within natural ecosystems. All our activities, including our economic activities, take place within and depend upon these ecosystems. This is the starting point for the trophic theory of money (TTOM).

“Trophic” refers to the flow of nutrition and energy. In the economy of nature,

The post Rooted in the Earth: The Economy Needs Agriculture appeared first on Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy.

by Brian Czech

If you recognize the damages done by a bloating economy, you’ll be alarmed by the global GDP meter, which hit the existentially menacing threshold of $100 trillion in 2022. If that doesn’t give you a dose of distress, try the global debt clock. Then, for a dizzying dose indeed, check the casino-like combination of debt and GDP maintained by “US Debt Clock.”

Almost all readers,

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