William N. Goetzmann > Quotes

“The central argument of this book is that financial innovations emerged to solve economic problems of time and geography, but they inevitably engendered new”
― William N. Goetzmann, Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible

“The power of finance to effect such important transitions in world history is that it moves economic value forward and backward through time.”
― William N. Goetzmann, Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible

“In essence, financial technology is a time machine we have built ourselves.”
― William N. Goetzmann, Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible

“Seaford goes so far as to suggest that the money economy influenced Platonic and Aristotelian notions of the individual.”
― William N. Goetzmann, Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible

“The business of a bank is to take in deposits and make loans; the true assets are not a stockpile of currency, a grand edifice, or a legion of clerks. Instead it is the business acumen of the banker, the eye for opportunities, the canny assessment of risk, and the reputation for integrity.”
― William N. Goetzmann, Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible

“All the ingredients were there: mechanization, innovation, property rights, and capital.”
― William N. Goetzmann, Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible