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The birth of economic man
| Content Provider | Scilit |
|---|---|
| Author | Kemp, Barry |
| Copyright Year | 2018 |
| Description | Book Name: Ancient Egypt |
| Abstract | Ancient Egypt belonged to a world in which money (coinage) had not yet been developed, and in which economic transactions of any significant size were carried on either by institutions (mainly temples) or by senior officials (including officers in the army). There was no independent class of merchants. Temples ideally maintained large stocks of commodities (especially grain) and this helped to bring stability to an economy heavily dependent upon the varying levels of the annual Nile flood. With so large an administered sector, what scope was there for a market economy to develop? The chapter explains how the values of things were established, how exchanges (barter) were made (in each case using written evidence from Deir el-Medina) and how it is an illusion to think that any economic system, ancient or modern, can be anything other than a varying mix of institutional control and mechanisms to satisfy private demand. Periods of disruption reveal the effectiveness of the latter, well illustrated by details from the Tomb Robbery Papyri of the Twentieth Dynasty, which reveal how stolen property was absorbed and put to use by local communities.The chapter explains how the values of things were established, how exchanges were made and how it is an illusion to think that any economic system, ancient or modern, can be anything other than a varying mix of institutional control and mechanisms to satisfy private demand. It explains that the economic systems of the ancient past were significantly different from those of the present. One can construct models of how they worked only from the ancient sources themselves, from a judicious use of ethnographic literature, and from certain points of reference that seem to be generally valid for economies in early complex societies. A general framework within which all modern economic systems work no matter how active their 'free' market sector. The fixing of prices for raw materials and other commodities, from grain to servant girls, takes people to the heart of the difficulties in coming to terms with ancient economies. |
| Related Links | https://content.taylorfrancis.com/books/download?dac=C2012-0-07351-2&isbn=9781351166485&format=googlePreviewPdf |
| Ending Page | 319 |
| Page Count | 26 |
| Starting Page | 294 |
| DOI | 10.4324/9781351166485-8 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited |
| Publisher Date | 2018-06-12 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Book Name: Ancient Egypt History and Philosophy of Science Models Market Economic System Commodities Economies Sector Ancient |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Chapter |
