Most historians and archaeologists place the beginning of the history of taxation and money around the Babylonian civilization who emerged some 4000 years ago on the fertile banks of the river Euphrates. With such a distant past it is impossible to place the date and people exactly, but the emergence of the first token economy is generally thought to coincide with the civilizations rise, and is regarded by many as their main contribution to human consciousness.
Previously relying on the exchange directly of good and services, or gift base economies, people were beginning to outgrow such a primitive method of exchange. Proving far easier to carry, transfer, and save, this revolutionized the Babylonian society creating what quickly became one of the greatest empires that the world has ever seen.
In more recent history tax has come to be a means to pay not just for use of roads and land, but also a contribution to society as a whole. With the rise of the nation state and the settled economy, tax has in some societies also been used as a way to balance society as a whole. Rather than protecting the rich it has become a means to alleviate poverty.
The idea of these exchanges has changed a great deal through the ages, coming to represent a great variety in sizes of areas and populations. Traditionally it’s value is based on a set amount of gold that the nation owns. As markets have become more and more complex, so has the relationships between metal and material objects, with values often being decided on fairly abstract levels.
Today another revolution is occurring as paper and metal tokens are being phased out altogether with advances in technology. It is perfectly possible to live in most developed countries now without ever seeing a banknote or coin since electronic exchange of goods and services has become so much easier removing the physical aspect altogether.
Taxation is also an aspect of human behavior that is changing rapidly. Whereas the original taxes were paid to landowners and protection rackets, governments are beginning to replace them. The key difference is that government has a mandate from the people rather than simply the ownership of the land. Although not always the reality, the idea is that governments collect taxes to represent the people rather than themselves.
Although they have been for thousands of years essential to an understanding of human society both historically and presently, many people remain incredibly unaware of the history of taxation and money.
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