47. The Law of Exchange

Money is the medium through which people exchange their labor in the production of goods and services for the goods and services of others.

Before there was money, there was barter. In barter, people exchange goods and services directly for goods and services without the medium of money. As civilization grew and barter became too clumsy, people found that they could exchange their goods and services for a medium like coins, which they could then exchange for the goods and services of others, thereby making the whole process more efficient. Today, we go to work and exchange our work for money, which we then use to purchase the results of the work of other people.

The first corollary of the Law of Exchange is Money is ...

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