The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World 1st Edition

The genius of history Professor Ferguson, of Harvard University and the Hoover Institute, is widely acclaimed. His ability to summarize the broad sweep of history in using easy language for non-academics is on display in many of his books.
Note: this book is not without its critics, particularly among Economists, who can be a cantankerous lot with a wide variety of political viewpoints. The book succeeds as a historical narrative and does not lay claim to technical economic exposition.
Ferguson has the ability to open up the broad sweep of history with easy terms and lots of facts to portray a clear picture. The pertinent statistics that abound in his narrative are particularly helpful in clarifying the history and impact of money. Beginning with money lenders in ancient Mesopotamia (a beginning form of credit) the author shows us how the ascent of money has been essential to the ascent of mankind.
The ascent of money is described as an evolutionary process with development throughout history of new mediums of exchange. Capital mutations bring about the creation of new markets and new products, which are created by a system under capitalism, which provides growth in the monetary system to accommodate economic growth and expansion of the population. One example of the ongoing change in the world of business and technology that is cited: of the 100 largest private companies in the year 1919 only 29 remained in the top 100 by the year 2000.
The author shows us the development of new tools in the supply of money from barter systems to using commodities as money, to the first coins in the Mediterranean region (600BC), to the Inca Empire which had no money (presumably applauded by Karl Marx but not John Lennon), to precious metals backed by coinage in the era of Pizarro, to the introduction of banking systems with the Medici Empire in 15th Century Florence, to the introduction of stocks, bonds, insurance, and international money markets, and to the subprime mortgage debacle.
Within the narrative we get the broad sweep of many of the greatest economists including Adam Smith, Friedrich von Hayek, Ludvig von Mises, Joseph Schumpeter, Karl Marx, Frank Knight, JM Keynes, and Milton Friedman.
The Author asserts that the basis of money is TRUST. National currencies therefore float in value compared to other currencies depending upon international confidence and expected stability. Credit also is dependent upon the commitment that loans will be repaid. According to the author with other things being equal, more “money” only increases prices and does not enrich a nation.
One theory espoused by a number of individuals in popular discourse is the world would be better off if there were no money! The author does not refute this argument directly, perhaps assuming that his readers are schooled in basic economics. Economic history teaches that in a culture where there is no money, a monetary system is created in order that goods and services can be exchanged between individuals. Only if no item in the culture has any value would there be no need for money. If anything, perhaps the life of an individual, does have value then there would arise the desire for a monetary system in order to protect or exchange the items of value between individuals. Ferguson does mention the “no money” topic regarding both Karl Marx and the Inca civilization. Little is known about the Inca Empire except that its time of prosperity was very short. Marxism seemed to flourish during the first half of the twentieth century but seemed to collapse by the end of the century, with many formerly Communist or socialist nations moving back toward widespread property rights and capitalism.

I appreciate and respect Mr Ferguson as an author and economist, but unfortunately, this book rated merely as "meh" for me. It was a fairly easy read, and while some theories and observations may be controversial to some (or rather in some circles), I don't think there was anything earth shattering or that 'out there.' If you've had any education in economics, then most of this book will be old hat (or at least a good refresher) and not bring you too much new. While those new to the field, then, will gain from this book, I think there are better routes to go. So overall, maybe this book is for you, and though it's only average to me, I still look forward to reading more works from Niall Ferguson.

A fascinating history of finance. The evolutionary nature of our economic systems is explained in a well written and understandable manner. This book should be enjoyed by historians, economists, and those interested in the changing world around them. The author’s references to the natural world are innovative and enlightening, and makes his analysis somewhat unique.

The title of the book infers a positive connotation to the development of money. I think the majority of people would agree that we are better off than those of Mesopotamia. This ascent, however, follows a saw-tooth pattern of gains and losses through time. Ferguson does a good job following these vicissitudes. I discovered the function of money studying economics in university, a unit of exchange. When a country has problems maintaining confidence in their currency, any benefits that the evolution of money has developed moves backward because that belief diminishes.

There is a lot of discussion on the purpose of this book: is it a history of money, does it fulfill an agenda of the author, does it describe the financial difficulties of our current economic condition, does it do all of these? I'll look at how this book fulfills all of these.

Firstly, Ferguson provides us with a history of money by taking us from tablets used five thousand years ago in Mesopotamia to the earliest known coins from 600 BC found by archaeologists in the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, to the Medicis of Italy, the Rothschilds, John Law , the American civil war, the World Wars, and to the housing bubble of the latest decade. These different periods illustrate developments and the failures in the history of loans, banks, bonds, real estate, derivatives, Chimerica, and the financial community's efforts to attach biological terms to the financial world.

Secondly, some have criticized Ferguson for only providing history that supports his political leanings. An argument could be made that this is a history of money and not politics although the two are highly intertwined and Ferguson does include politics in this history. I would think Ferguson tried to minimize the role of politics so criticisms of excluding Pinochet's human cost could be defended on these grounds.

Thirdly, the history of money is filled with instances of the animal spirit or irrational exuberance of human thinking which explains the most recent recession. From the Medicis to the Rothschilds, John Law to Ken Lay, over confidence soon gets the better of us and therefore does explain the cause of today's recession.

So I think Ferguson did a good job overall in combining micro details that provide a tactile connection to significant developments in the history of money and still achieves a macro understanding of money. Looking at the ledgers of the Medicis or the tablets that were used for crops keeps you on your toes while explaining the developments of the first lenders for example.

My favorite parts of this book include the Dutch United East India company's power in world trade, German monetary policy after WW I, the role of bonds in the US civil war, the Chilean experiment, and the modern day stock market, 12 fold increase over 20 years.

My least favorite part is the explanation of today's problems being the result of printing money. From my reading of the situation, it was the rating agencies who enabled the selling of the CDO's and mortgage company's ability to escape liability in their lending practices. Not the printing of money.

I'm looking forward to reading Ferguson's next book "Civilization".

Really interesting book. Well researched and written. I love the historical view of finances. The language is understandable, not a huge amount of academic terminology for beginner like me.