Economist's Fables on the Origins of Money

The rhetoric of modern economics relies heavily on the image of a positive, empirical-driven social science. Yet the discipline has long been populated by narratives about the origins of money based on bold assumptions about human nature and the laws of social evolutionbut supported by scant historical evidence. Such fables have been remarkably resilient, cutting across different eras and theoretical frameworks. The paper will survey various iterations of these origin stories over time, analyzing the roles they played in the rhetorical arsenal of economists. While this mode of argument would not have sounded out of touch with the style of early modern political economy, it remained a fixture even when economics began to move toward a more technical language from the late 19 th century onward. This indicates how these fables conveyed a message that could not be easily translated into formal modelling. Rather than being a simple placeholder, they communicated something about the nature of money that subsequent generations of economists perceived as important.Bringing a long-term view to bear on the subject, the paper will uncover the reasons why economists have adhered so consistently to these fragile historical narratives, despite their aspirations of scientific rigor.