Synopsis "Gifts from the Gods: Good for Trade, Good for Tax"
All the elements necessary for a rewarding and productive life are freely available on Earth, gifts from the gods. Great empires have evolved around one specific gift, a tax point set up to take reasonable revenue from it, and the investment of that revenue in a way that increased its quantity. Those gifts which helped to increase the population or its military capacity, without increasing the tax rate, had a doubly-effective impact on empire building. This book explains obsidian's unique genesis and properties, and suggests how humans used it to change their society. Later essential elements include salt, which allowed a much greater penetration of remote locations, and the specialisation of roles in agriculture, industry, mining and metallurgy. Tax Man processed important raw materials into clothing, food, money, tools, weapons, and fuel. Much of Tax Man's history and civilisation revolved around his attempts to tax these commodities, while those who exploit them tried to avoid and evade that taxation. Our future will certainly focus on attempts to tax the transport of modern gifts that, by definition, are not physical, but sub-atomic particles.
