#1159 Michael Hudson - Temples of Enterprise: Creating Economic Order in the Bronze Age Near East

Oct 6, 2025

Dr. Michael Hudson, an acclaimed economist and president of the Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends, discusses the fascinating economic systems of the ancient Near East. He reveals how temples created early forms of money and managed debt through innovative accounting practices. Hudson highlights how debt cancellations were vital for societal stability and describes the complex interplay between temples, palaces, and urbanization. His insights challenge modern economic theories, emphasizing lessons from history that could inform today's policymakers.

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INSIGHT

Temples Invented Money As Accounting

Money originated as temple cost-accounting to settle credits, not as barter facilitation, with debts settled at harvest time.
Silver and grain were standardized units tied to temple distributions and labor payments.

INSIGHT

Debt Cancellations Preserved Labor

Rulers periodically canceled debts and restored land to avoid depopulation and flight by indebted cultivators.
Debt jubilees maintained a labor force essential for irrigation, public works, and defense.

INSIGHT

Standardized Land Tenure Supported Public Works

Land tenure was organized by standardized plot assignments tied to community obligations like military service and corvée labor.
Taxes and service obligations defined tenure and funded temple/palace institutions that coordinated exports and crafts.

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Dr. Michael Hudson is President of the Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends (ISLET), a Wall Street Financial Analyst, and Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He is the author of several books, including Temples of Enterprise: Creating Economic Order in the Bronze Age Near East.

In this episode, we focus on Temples of Enterprise. We talk about the origins of the economy in the ancient Near East, and the origins of money. We discuss the role of temples and palaces, and whether there has ever been a “free market”. We talk about urbanization in the ancient Near East. Finally, we discuss Mesopotamia’s role in innovating and shaping civilization’s basic economic institutions, and what modern Western democracies can learn from Bronze Age economic policy.

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