Full Description
This book explores the historical evolution of monetary theory while placing a particular focus on the relationship between currency and credit money. Rather than using traditional classifications based on schools of thought, it develops a structure for comparing monetary theories. This taxonomy better captures the diversity of perspectives with regard to money. The study presents twenty-five selected theories from the late Middle Ages to the early twentieth century, contextualizing them within their historical background. Rather than synthesizing these perspectives into a unified framework, the book provides a comparative "panopticon" of diverse and often contradictory ideas. In doing so, it demonstrates how debates concerning the essence, value, and function of money - questions that remain pertinent in light of contemporary discussions surrounding digital currencies and Modern Monetary Theory - have recurred in various forms throughout history.
Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. Methodological Considerations.- Chapter 3. Fundamentals in Monetary History.- Chapter 4. Key Concepts in Monetary Theory.- Chapter 5. Scholastic Authors.- Chapter 6. Mercantilist Authors.- Chapter 7. Development of the Quantity Theory of Money: Parallel Discussions.- Chapter 8. John Law (1671-1729): Money and Economic Growth.- Chapter 9. John Locke (1632-1704): The Wheels of Trade Are Turned by Silver.- Chapter 10. Ferdinando Galiani (1728-1787): Money as a Public Ledger.- Chapter 11. Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804): Disciple of John Law and Founder of Wall Street.- Chapter 12. Richard Cantillon (1680-1734): Money Flows like a River - Fluctuating and Uneven.- Chapter 13. Authors of the Classical Period.- Chapter 14. Henry Thornton (1760-1815): Paper Money in Times of Crises.- Chapter 15. David Ricardo (1772-1823): Monetary Policy Orthodoxy.- Chapter 16. Thomas Tooke (1774-1858): Money Follows Prices.- Chapter 17. Henry Dunning Macleod (1821-1902): Money as the Highest Form of Credit.- Chapter 18. German-Speaking Authors.- Chapter 19. Adam Müller (1779-1829): The Power of Unity in Money.- Chapter 20. Georg Friedrich Knapp (1842-1926): Money as a Legal Entity.- Chapter 21. Marxist Authors.- Chapter 22. Rudolf Hilferding (1877-1941): Marxist Eclecticism.- Chapter 23. Neoclassical Authors.- Chapter 24. Knut Wicksell (1851-1926): Quantity Theory in a Pure System of Credit.- Chapter 25. Irving Fisher (1867-1947): The Canonical Form of the Quantity Theory.- Chapter 26. Joseph A. Schumpeter (1883-1950): Money as an Endogenous Token.- Chapter 27. Concluding Remarks.
