Re: the mita

[Carrol Cox <cbcox@xxxxxxxxx>]

Rob Schaap wrote:
>
> Quoth Jim:
>
> >If I remember correctly, some of Hammurabi's code referred to market
> transactions. If there any experts on this subject reading this,
> please correct me if I'm wrong.<
>
> Respondeth Lou:
>
> > I am an expert. You are wrong.
>
> One small addition to Lou's thoughts - they're probably wrong.
>
> The stela at Susa records +/- 282 of H's legal decisions, and many of 'em are
> to do with rules for commerce (on price setting for services, differential
> tariffs and the nature of rights and obligations between landowners and the
> workers of the land). . . .

Another commercial feature reflected in Hammurapi's code was the use of
silver as _both_ a means of payment _and_ a measure of value. In early
cultures the two most often varied: e.g., use silver or copper for means
of payment but cattle for measure of value. By Jim Blaut's criteria,
capitalism is at least 4000 years old and thus useless as a historical
category.

Carrol