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Even ancient Greece owed much of its glory to money. After Solon drastically devalued the drachma in 594 B.C., it became the standard medium of trade throughout the Mediterranean and carried Greek commerce and culture well into Asia.
On the other side of the coin, the ruination of Rome closely followed the debasing of its own denarius; when the people started borrowing extravagantly, the inevitable consequence was devaluation, depression and downfall. After that, Constantinople was able to control much of the world for centuries, largely because it had a solid, incorruptible currency. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain enjoyed her "Golden Age," as explorers brought back gold and silver from colonies in the New World. Using this treasure, Spain was able to finance a culture that, for all its cruelty, nurtured Cervantes, El Greco and Velazquez.
With almost no natural resources, states from ancient Phoenicia to modern Switzerland have prospered because their people mastered the mysteries of trading, banking and other means of handling money. More than any other nation, Britain rose to power by managing its money and commerce with a shrewd combination of prudence and daring. Economist Robert Heilbroner has calculated: "With the share received as a stockholder of Sir Francis Drake's voyage of the Golden Hynd, Queen Elizabeth paid off all England's foreign debts, balanced its budget and invested abroad a sum large enough, at compound interest, to account for Britain's entire overseas wealth in 1930." Britain was forced to sell off most of those investments to pay for two world wars, and she has been in a bind ever since. She might have recovered were it not for a more basic problem: the British are capable of incredible bursts of energy and dedication for brief periods when the kingdom is endangered, but they seem less inclined to work and sacrifice over the longer course. In the land of retrogressive unions and perpetual tea breaks, productivity is low and sterling is no longer quite as good as gold. The pound could become much stronger if the government were more willing to reduce its debts by cutting back on social programs, or to increase productivity by allowing a slight rise in the rate of unemployment.
Eternal Realities
While Britons tend to worry excessively about unemployment, Germans fret about inflation. Older Germans shudder at memories of Weimar-era inflation, when a wheelbarrowful of nearly worthless marks might buy half a dozen eggs; most young Germans can recall when a day's wages were worth less than one American Lucky Strike on the black market.
Germany's postwar economic recovery dates from the currency reform of 1948, when the discredited old Reichsmark was replaced by the new, solid Deutsche Mark. Overnight, empty stores became full to overflowing as retailers brought clothes and groceries out of the warehouses, where they had been hidden until they could be sold for something of value. Since then, the Germans have kept their currency strong by employing the old-fashioned virtues —sometimes to excess. Work is the national pastime, frugality is highly regarded and the word debt (Schuld) retains its Biblical meaning of "guilt."