Money Changes Everything

Money Changes Everything by William N. Goetzmann is praised as a "magnificent history of money and finance" by the New York Times Book Review and is said to "convincingly make the case that finance is a change-maker of change-makers" by the Financial Times.

In the aftermath of recent financial crises, it's easy to view finance as a destructive force—one that destroys fortunes and jobs, and undermines governments and banks. However, Goetzmann, a leading financial historian, argues the opposite. He suggests that the development of finance has been essential for the growth of civilisations.

Goetzmann explains that finance is akin to a time machine, a technology that allows value to be moved forward and backward through time. This innovation has fundamentally changed the way we think about and plan for the future.

He illustrates how finance was pivotal at crucial historical moments: driving the invention of writing in ancient Mesopotamia, enabling the classical civilisations of Greece and Rome to rise as great empires, influencing the dynastic cycles in imperial China, and funding trade expeditions that took Europeans to the New World.

Additionally, Goetzmann demonstrates how the components of what we consider a modern economy—such as stock markets, lines of credit, complex financial products, and international trade—have been developed, forgotten, and reinvented throughout human history.

Delving into the critical role of finance around the globe over millennia, Goetzmann details how remarkable financial technologies and institutions—like money, bonds, banks, and corporations—have fuelled the expansion of urban centres and the flourishing of cultures. Furthermore, he discusses the continuous impact of finance on our lives, pondering future challenges like harnessing financial power to care for an aging and growing population.

Money Changes Everything offers a captivating exploration of how finance has directed the course of history.