The nature of money : new directions in political economy

In this important new book, Geoffrey Ingham draws on neglected traditions in the social sciences to develop a theory of the ‘social relation’ of money. * Genuinely multidisciplinary approach, based on a thorough knowledge of theories of money in the social sciences * An original development of the neglected heterodox theories of money * New histories of the origins and development of forms of money and their social relations of production in different monetary systems * A radical interpretation of capitalism as a particular type of monetary system and the first sociological outline of the institutional structure of the social production of capitalist money * A radical critique of recent writing on global e-money, the so-called ‘end of money’, and new monetary spaces such as the euro. "The Nature of Money draws on neglected intelectual traditions in the social sciences to develop a theory of the social relation of money. Geoffrey Ingham argues that mainstream economics and sociology fail to grasp the specific nature of money. It is seen either as a 'neutral veil' over the operation of the 'real' economy or its existence is simply taken for granted. Defining money as a socially and politically constructed 'promise to pay', Ingham applies this approach to a range of important historical and analytical questions. The origins of money, the 'cashless' monetary systems of the ancient Near Eastern empires, the pre-capitalist coinage of Greece and Rome and the emergence of capitalist credit-money are all given new interpretations ..."--Publisher description Front cover 1 Contents 4 Preface 7 PART I. CONCEPTS AND THEORIES 10 Introduction 12 1. Money as a Commodity and 'Neutral' Symbol of Commodities 24 2. Abstract Value, Credit and the State 47 3. Money in Sociological Theory 68 4. Fundamentals of a Theory of Money 78 PART II. HISTORY AND ANALYSIS 96 5. The Historical Origins of Money and its Pre-capitalist Forms 98 6. The Development of Capitalist Credit-Money 116 7. The Production of Capitalist Credit-Money 143 8. Monetary Disorder 161 9. New Monetary Spaces 184 Concluding Remarks 206 Notes 214 Index 250 Back cover 265 Mainstream economics fails to grasp the nature of money. It is seen either as a 'neutral veil' over the operation of the 'real' economy or as a 'thing' - a special commodity. This book draws on neglected traditions in the social sciences to develop a theory of the 'social relation' of money