Currency as an elite enrollment mechanism for governments

"The invention of money undoubtedly proved beneficial to the subjects of the governments that issued it—in spite of the socially subversive fluctuations of inflation and deflation, and temptations to lend and borrow at usurious rates, which the invention brought in its train. But a greater benefit assuredly accrued to the issuing governments themselves; for the issue of money is an acte de présence which brings a government into direct and constant contact with at least an active, intelligent, and influential minority of its subjects; and this monetary epiphany not only automatically fosters a government's prestige, but also gives it a magnificent opportunity for self-advertisement." (p. 76)

from Volume 2 of "A Study of History (abridged) by Arnold Toynbee

Morphogenesis

"Morphogenesis does not take place in a vacuum. It can only begin from an already organized system which serves as a morphogenetic germ. During morphogenesis a new higher-level morphic unit comes into being around this germ, under the influence of a specific morphogenetic field. So how does this field become associated with the morphogenetic germ to start with?

"The answer may be that just as the association of material systems with gravitational fields depends on their mass, and with electromagnetic fields on their electric charge, so the association of systems with morphogenetic fields depends on their form. Hence a morphogenetic germ becomes surrounded by a particular morphogenetic field because of its characteristic form." (p. 76).

from "A New Science of Life: The Hypothesis of Morphic Resonance" by Rupert Sheldrake