having its function increasingly transferred to science and 
automation.

     Today, even natural resources have an informational 
aspect. They exist by virtue of the culture and skill of some 
community. The reverse, however, is true also. All media—or 
extensions of man—are natural resources that exist by virtue 
of the shared knowledge and skill of a community. It was 
awareness of this aspect of money that hit Robinson Crusoe 
very hard when he visited the wreck, resulting in the meditation 
quoted at the beginning of this chapter.

     When there are goods but no money, some sort of 
barter—or direct exchange of one product for another—has to 
occur. When, however, in nonliterate societies goods are used in 
direct exchange, then it is easiest to note their tendency to