ABSTRACT
Since the times of Adam Smith, David Hume, Karl Marx, and Max Weber, social scientists and historians have studied the origins, causes, nature, and consequences of global economic disparity. Some have speculated about an inherent cultural-economic superiority of Europe due to the fact that the first transition into an industrial economy occurred in Western Europe and not in Asia. First, money, markets, and monetary transactions are assumed to have been equally important at any time during the last millennium for people in either world region. This inherently questionable proposition lies in the assumption of the ‘market’ as being the main or even major ‘clearing agent’ for economic transactions across all countries, societies, and times. There were considerable changes and different trajectories within Europe over time, which cannot be grasped with such a somewhat brief reference framework as the Great Divergence starting in or after 1750 or 1800.
