> Money is about imbuing items - some of which may be intangible - with power and manna
People will imbue all sorts of things with power and manna. (Video game highscores, or clothes, or the food you eat, etc. , etc.) Money is not special here.
> It's bean counting with imaginary magic beans, controlled by a priestly caste of imaginary magic bean rationers.
No. Fiat money (like the USD) are just IOU scrips from the government. No more magical or priestly than the IOU's you might give to your neighbor.
Fiat money IOU's are special only because you need them to pay taxes.
People will imbue all sorts of things with power and manna. (Video game highscores, or clothes, or the food you eat, etc. , etc.) Money is not special here.
> It's bean counting with imaginary magic beans, controlled by a priestly caste of imaginary magic bean rationers.
No. Fiat money (like the USD) are just IOU scrips from the government. No more magical or priestly than the IOU's you might give to your neighbor.
Fiat money IOU's are special only because you need them to pay taxes.