Trust, Faith and Confidence–Value and the Role of Money
The moneychanger and his wife, Marinus van Reymerswaele, wikiart.org
For most of human existence, interchange has been governed by social reciprocity, our sense of obligation to be helpful, fair, and just according to tradition. So how did money—originally invented as a mere token of social obligation—get confused with true wealth and become the end in itself?
Debt, Trust and the Functions of Money
We all think we know about money. But do we understand the functions of money, what money actually is, and what it represents?
Power, Money and Stability
The Bank of England, the central bank equivalent to the Federal Reserve in the USA, declares: “Money is a kind of IOU which is universally trusted.” But this is not always true, and from this comes a question which has occupied thinkers throughout the history of money: What are the conditions in which such trust can occur?
Alternative Currency: Substitute Moneys and Cryptocurrencies
Currency is ephemeral and secondary; that it is the underlying mechanism of credit and repayment of accounts is the essence of money. For different reasons, alternative, unofficial currencies have served this function in place of, or alongside, government money.