One major theme of The Ascent of Money is that the financial system helps the poor more than it hurts them. However, financial crises like the subprime mortgage crisis often falls heavily on the poor. Do you agree or disagree with Ferguson on this point?

Using the examples in Chapter 1, explain how money works. What is necessary for something to be used as money? Why can any object be used for money? What is something not mentioned in the chapter that a society has used for money? Your example can be from the past or something in use today.

Ferguson gives several examples of how finance has affected historical events, such as the defeat of Napoleon and the outcome of the US Civil War. What’s another example you can think of? (Look for examples that are not as obvious as the Stock Market Crash of 1929 causing the Great Depression.) Explain what happened and what the role of finance was.