In the beginning, man didn’t spend money, but he did the same thing. He traded something he had for something someone else had when the two of them mutually agreed that the trade was good for each. The trade produced more value for each, and for the two of them combined, than they previously had.
Had not each of them perceived a higher value for himself as a result of the trade, he would not have made the trade in the first place. Both were winners. Winner plus winner = increased value/wealth.
Today, we use something we mutually accept as “money” to represent the value because the much larger, complex population cannot economically employ a barter system with all of our trading partners. Still, every voluntary exchange produces extra value for each of the trading partners.
Example: If you’re hungry, you see more value in that Big Mac and fries than you do in the $5 bill in your pocket. The owner of McDonalds sees more value in your $5 bill because he produced that meal for less than $5. He can keep making that trade all day long and use the profits to make the same trade available to hungry people in other towns, and you left the transaction with the nourishment you need to enjoy life for another day. Winner + winner = more value/wealth.
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