chapter 3 of who owns the future

I think its interesting how Lanier draws the comparative of early "money" being another way to store information. It was more of an accounting system than an economy. Now, our economic system is set up where "money" holds a concrete value instead of just being a representation of something else. One result of the newer money system is; we have no idea where the money comes from anymore. For most people, this is a good thing. If we were to know where every single dollar came from, people would be arguing left and right. But, this is also a bad thing. The fact that money is harder to trace makes it easier for people to give into temptations and corruptions, ultimately leading into disasters like the Great Recession.