Bartered Bonds

I recently asked my friend “How would you replace money in current times? With what would you replace money?”. After a lot of silence, we both came to a similar solution of not knowing the answer.

Before monetization came into existence, the Barter system existed. You gave something to a person and they gave you back something in return. That’s how it was back from 6000 BC until the money was introduced. What people don’t know is that the Barter system still exists among us. Where is it used? Relationships. When a person related to you does something for you, s/he most of the times expects something in return. If s/he doesn’t, then they’re either saints or they are lying. Every human being is selfish to a certain extent. We have a nature of expecting something in return like money, a gift, or even sex. Money doesn’t matter in bartered relationships, except for other than it being used as just another commodity like sex, or any materialistic object. Doesn’t that make all of us humans prostitutes? You can persuade your close ones by bribing them with these commodities. For example, a lover can bribe you into doing something for them by offering sex in exchange. That’s the Barter system for you right there.

I wonder what existed before the Barter system. How did people manage to buy and sell objects? Though one thing is for sure. Barter system in relationships existed long before the actual system started.