Menger's Barter Theory of the Origin of Money Is Still Standing

Professor Georgy Ganev joins Bob to explain that, contrary to the claims of David Graeber and the MMTers, the barter origin of money has not been refuted. The anthropological evidence is consistent with the Mengerian story, and Mises' regression theorem remains the only coherent explanation for money's value.

Professor Ganev's Paper, "Has the barter theory of the origins of money been rejected?": https://Mises.org/HAP519a

00:00 Introduction to the Human Action Podcast and George Ganev's Work
04:15 Carl Menger's Barter Theory and its Relevance to Austrian Economics
09:00 Mises's Regression Theorem: The Only Explanation for the Value of Money
14:50 Polanyi's Critique of Market Origins and its Inconsistencies
22:00 Debunking the "Definitive Study" on Barter by Caroline Humphrey
28:00 The Spontaneous Emergence of Money and Challenges to State-Origin Theories
34:00 The Role of Exchange Ratios and Market Prices in Money's Origin
40:00 The Conflation of Barter Theory with Neoclassical Economics
45:00 The Absence of Archaeological Evidence for Barter and the Radford Experiment
49:00 Conclusion: The Barter Theory Remains a Strong Contender for Money's Origin