Adam Smith was completely wrong about barter—he thought it was an old-fashioned prehistoric practice involving cavemen swapping berries for meat that would die out with money and credit, but barter actually exists in many communities simultaneously with money and credit

factualpending

Speaker

Gillian Tett

Evidence Quote

adam smith got totally wrong...barter was an old-fashioned prehistoric practice...barter would essentially die out...he was a hundred percent wrong [39:38]

Source

Can we Fix Capitalism? Yanis Varoufakis vs Gillian TettIntelligence Squared
Created: 8/12/2026, 10:33:04 PM

My Notes

Loading notes...