Money and Moneys

Barter may be depicted as a series of moves in which various quantities of, say, apples and oranges are compared as to their worth, until the two buyers/sellers agree that “nine apples for six oranges” is “just right.” In this case, though, the word “right” bears—by contrast with obligatory exchange of gifts—no ethical connotation. ¹ The reference is to a reciprocity that is reduced to quantitative equality, pure and simple. And if no quantity can be “real” unless it is measurable, ² then the barter transaction presupposes from the very outset a standard of measurement independent of the physis of the objects exchanged and of the social conditions under which the exchange takes place.