What I really, really want (and how badly)
One of the cool functions of money is that it allows us to express our preferences in a remarkably refined way by means of our willingness to pay — but it is not always that simple
Preferences are a relatively recent phenomenon. Even our not-so-distant ancestors didn’t bother much about them. Preferences are only relevant when there is choice, and when there are trade-offs to be made. They didn’t have Netflix, a vast range of breakfast cereals, or numerous clothing brands. Mostly, they took what they could get, whether that was food (as long as it was nutritious), a cave for shelter (as long as it was fit for purpose), or a mate (as long as you could produce offspring together).
But once our even-less-distant ancestors had come up with some form of sophisticated society, choice emerged, and they had to start making trade-offs. And money allowed them (and us now) to express which of those choices they preferred, and what they were willing to sacrifice for it, without having to resort to ever more complicated bartering combinations (what is the exchange rate between hares and loaves of bread today?)
