link to original reddit post by /u/Sabaspep
What would be the Modern Monetary Theory explanation for the origin of work specialization?
Specialization is a natural outcome and, in the Mengerian explanation of the origin of money, was a major driving force in a medium of exchange being needed. If I'm trying to acquire wheat, and I'm a blacksmith, and I don't have anything that the miller wants, then I need to trade my goods/services for something that the miller wants. This would've been when gold moved from being a collectible, then a store of value, and then a medium of exchange.
Modern Monetary Theory argues that it was Debt that was the origin of money. As David Graeber used to articulate "If you see my cow and say 'That's a nice cow' I would say 'OH, Keep it!' and then you owe me 'one'. One what? It doesn't matter. That's how people traded before the state created money!" This doesn't seem to explain when specialization would've started. How would MMT, or at the very least, Graeber, explain how specialization fits into the puzzle of money and debt?