Hume describes money as one of the three spontaneous institutions of social organization; the others are language and law. This is testimony to money's usefulness. Its basic functions are enabling and liberating, and expand our capacity to be moral. Money facilitates the division of labour and specialization, preconditions for the productivity that underpins complex institutions of government, and scientific and technological progress. Without it we cannot tame the future through saving and insurance; or innovate, through risk-taking, experimentation and investment. Money finances infrastructure and the arts. Credit makes our daily lives easier and e-commerce viable. We are not just better off; we also have an incentive to counteract tribalism and nationalism. Global money binds us together in a way that profoundly undermines national attachment and interests. This complex division of labour has created global interdependence, and the mutual benefits rely on our differences. If we were all the same there would be little point.

Markets and free exchange are preconditions for these uses of money, and money in turn expands the scope and sophistication of markets. Most analysis of the benefits of markets in the allocation of resources focuses on the effects of incentives: efficiency, improved use of information and innovative risk-taking. These benefits help to explain the continuing global trend towards adopting markets as the principal means of economic organization. The ongoing transformation of living conditions in many developing countries, most notably China, is testimony to the significance of these effects (Wolf 2004).