Blood and Money: War, Slavery, Finance, and Empire

by David McNally

Blood and Money tells the story of money as a history of violence and human bondage.

In most accounts of the origins of money we are offered pleasant tales in which it arises to the mutual benefit of all parties as a result of barter. In this groundbreaking study David McNally reveals the true story of money’s origins and development as one of violence and human bondage. Money’s emergence and its transformation are shown to be intimately connected to the buying and selling of slaves and the waging of war. Blood and Money demonstrates the ways that money has “internalized” its violent origins, making clear that it has become a concentrated force of social power and domination. Where Adam Smith observed that monetary wealth represents “command over labor,” this paradigm shifting book amends his view to define money as comprising the command over persons and their bodies.
Reviews

"This fascinating and informative study, rich in novel insights, treats money not as an abstraction from its social base but as deeply embedded in its essential functions and origins in brutal violence and harsh oppression." —Noam Chomsky

"McNally casts an unsparing light on the origins of money—and capitalism itself—in this scathing, Marxist-informed account.... McNally builds a powerful, richly documented argument that unchecked capitalism prioritizes greed and violence over compassion....[T]his searing academic treatise makes a convincing case." —Publishers Weekly

"David McNally's new book makes an important contribution to the growing critical literature on such basic components of contemporary capitalism as markets and money. His historical perspective makes the contribution especially insightful." —Richard D. Wolff, Democracy at Work

"Blood and Money is an ambitious and challenging account of the nexus between money, war, slavery and, eventually, capitalism—across vast swathes of history. At the heart of the book lies a crucial argument about the pivotal role of war finance in the emergence of modern banking, carefully laid out both in McNally’s superlative chapter on the early decades of the Bank of England and in the condensed and fascinating synopsis of American capitalism with which the study concludes. These chapters alone should make the book indispensable reading for anyone seriously interested in the longer-term sources of modern capitalism as we know it today." —Jairus Banaji, SOAS, University of London

Genres: History, Economics, Nonfiction, Politics, Audiobook, Money, War

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book entertains while it instructs -- and it is instructive. I learned so much about the commodity form and money, about alienation and monetization. McNally covers a global history of money with depth and clarity, and he does it in under 250 pages. After reading this work, I am looking forward to reading more of McNally's scholarship. And I feel now that reading Marx's Capital in 2021 is an even more worthwhile pursuit.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and informative history, shedding light on the inextricable link between economy and violence, between the origins of money and rise of capitalism and horrors of slavery and war.

[Frank Keizer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book analyzes the entanglements of money and slavery and their role in the rise of capitalism. Very instructive. Loved the literary analyses of the great epics as texts that depict the turn towards a different political economy and a different regime of accumulation.

[Justin H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although difficult to read at times, this book delves deep into the history of money and our relations to it.

[Cold · Rating 5 out of 5]

McNally essentially argues that money has always been linked to claims on labour. Either the whips and chains of slavery, the gold system keeping track of intl goods and services produced by labour, or fiat money backed by claims against future tax payers. At first it was impenetrable. The first few chapters cover the history of slavery in Greece and Rome, at its best when identifying interesting etymological links between words for money and slavery. But the penultimate chapter on the history of gold and fiat money was incredible. I'll have to re-read that. Marxists when writing about economic have this enlightening common sense explanations that is completely absent in macro-economics. Its a shame they are completely impenetrable on politics :D

[John Byrnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

McNally's book follows the thread of currency to credit along the human cost of disenfranchisement, enclosure, and more especially of slavery. A thorough book with excellent notes, McNally writes a strong history worthwhile for anyone thinking about possible futures.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty cursory in most places, but I want to re-read the 20th/21st century sections.

[Giuseppe Pipazzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die Zusammenhänge zwischen Kapitalismus und Sklaverei sind in vielen Bücher dargestellt und eigentlich kann man dazu nicht genug schreiben.
Die essentielle Komponente wie unser heutiges Geldsystem funktioniert und wieso das auch mit der Sklaverei zusammenhängt lässt sich hier sehr gut verstehen.
Bürgerliche Analysen zur Wirtschaft, Finanzen und Geld sind beschissen, weswegen ich mich davon fernhalten möchte.
McNally analysiert sehr genau und dialektisch wie das Blut unserer Wirtschaft (Geld) funktioniert.
Dieses Wissen ist hilfreich für die Entzauberung des Kapitalismus und mit einem sehr positiven und optimistischen Schlusswort.


Spannend geschrieben um dran zu bleiben.
Leicht geschrieben um nicht zu verzweifeln.

[Uros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly interesting and well researched book. It makes a very compelling case for the origins of money, much more compelling than the idea of barter which never made much sense to me and as it turns out it doesn't makes sense because it didn't happen! The origins of money are warfare and slavery. In the Ancient World the only people paid in money, or coinage at the time, were slaves and soldiers. And gradually more and more people were absorbed into the wage system with the rise of aboslutist states in Europe who imposed this system on the rest of the world in the colonial period of 1500 onwards.

[René Arnsburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine großartige Untersuchung der Rolle von Gewalt (in Form von Kriegen) bei der Schaffung des Handels, dem Einsatz von Geld und der Entstehung zentralisierter Staaten. McNallys Buch ist kein Einsteigerwerk, aber es ist eine hervorragende Anwendung des historischen und dialektischen Materialismus. Es lohnt sich daher nicht nur wegen des geschichtlichen Materials, das es enthält, sondern auch wegen der Methode, die der Autor bei der Betrachtung gesellschaftlicher Zusammenhänge anwendet. Der Untertitel ist etwas missverständlich, da es im Buch zwar auch um Sklaverei geht, das aber bei weitem nicht sein Hauptthema ist sondern eben Blut und Geld.

[Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

McNally is a deep researcher after my own heart. He takes you on a journey through time, from ancient to modern. The rich historical detail is fascinating. He knows the ins and outs of money and all the terrifying implications of a global society ruled by it. Basically Man + Money = World Go Kaboom. I liked it best when he didn't let the (admittedly fascinating) facts take over for analysis. There is eloquent and highly relevant analysis to be found here.

Reading it, I had to fill in my own ecofeminist/animal liberationist etc. points as he really doesn't go there.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This critical history of the relationship between war, enslavement, government, bodies, and money was an illuminating read. The style strikes a balance between historical storytelling and surveying sources’ historically contextualized arguments. Would recommend to anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of the development of capitalism, social implications of money throughout time, empire, warmaking, and the codification of exploitation/domination in the history of Western civilization.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

If DEBT: THE FIRST 5000 YEARS is the freshman seminar intro to the true history of money - why it was developed, why it persists, and what cruelties it obscures - McNally's BLOOD AND MONEY is the senior-year intensive. McNally delves deep into the scholarship, like Graeber, but strings together a more compelling narrative.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a study of a small mind. For the small mind, conventional wisdom is to be rehashed and served again, because several slave masters abusing slaves is bad (and it is), and the solution would be ONE slave master to keep everybody in bondage (worse, by the scale of facts).

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike a lot of political theorists, McNally can actually write well. He does a great job of explaining how blood, money, and power are all linked together. I especially love the conclusion. It was a beautiful and hopeful ending to an otherwise depressing piece.

[Rick Goff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rewarding read, but a challenging one. Its ideal reader brings knowledge of money, finance, economics and critical theory.

[Joel Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe the best book I've read this year. Excellent and engaging.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exploration of money’s relationship with the human body across history, McNally’s analysis is Western-centered, lending it well to Marxist critiques of the Western colonialism.

[Vanrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bartering isn't as common as people thought and slaves were functionally the same as money. Yup sounds about right.