The Almightier: How Money Became God, Greed Became Virtue, and Debt Became Sin

Money and greed got a big assist from religion and then turned into a kind of religion, according to this accessible study from journalist Vigna (Guts). He starts with the invention of money in ancient Mesopotamia as an accounting system for debts owed to temples. From there, he goes on to argue that Jesus was crucified after preaching a general debt write-off, and covers the medieval church’s suspicion of excessive wealth. A sea change occurred in Renaissance Italy, Vigna contends, with the rise of an ethos that saw amassing wealth as a godly pursuit if it was used for public benefit. He traces the secularization of this idea thanks to Adam Smith’s notion that markets channel profit-seeking self-interest into collectively beneficial economic pursuits, and argues that 15th and 16th century colonialism was “the greatest explosion” of greed “the world has ever seen.” Vigna’s suggestions for how to smash the false idol of money include a proposal for printing $300 trillion to pay off the world’s debt. Some readers may not be convinced by his notion that faith, not money printing or credit creation, drives inflation, though he’s got a sense of humor about it: “that sound you just heard was the entire western economic establishment falling off its collective chair.” This is sure to spark debate. (July)