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Summary:
Market societies use narratives to justify the social technology called money. How do the essentially worthless slips of paper in my wallet or the digital entries in my bank account give me command over real resources? Answering this question requires, consciously or not, a story that rationalizes money—even if it’s not exactly accurate. As debates around money, debt, and the state continue, it is worthwhile to review three parables of money—credit money, commodity money and chartalism—each of which has distinct implications for the role of government in the economy and the limits of monetary policy.
Citation
Davis, Owen F. (2019). “Money Parables.” Phenomenal World.