This authoritative new collection comprises a selection of the most important readings reflecting the wide diversity in the conceptualization of the nature of money in the social sciences. Commodity theory, state theory, credit theory, post Keynesian theory, theory of the monetary circuit, and important contributions from Marxism and sociology are included.Geoffrey Ingham's comprehensive introduction critically analyses the various concepts, explains their differences, assesses their relative merits, and gives guidance for further reading. The collection will be an invaluable reference source for students and academics in economics, sociology and political science.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Acknowledgements Introduction Geoffrey Ingham PART I ORTHODOX ECONOMIC CONCEPTS OF MONEY 1. Karl Menger (1892), ‘On the Origin of Money’ 2. R. Radford (1945), ‘The Economic Organisation of a P.O.W. Camp’ 3. Robert A. Jones (1976), ‘The Origin and Development of Media of Exchange’ 4. Frank H. Hahn (1987), ‘The Foundations of Monetary Theory’ 5. Robert Clower (1967), ‘A Reconsideration of the Microfoundations of Monetary Theory’ PART II MARXIST CONCEPTS OF MONEY 6. Karl Marx (1971), ‘1. Measure of Value’, excerpt from Chapter Two, ‘Money or Simple Circulation’ 7. Ben Fine and Costas Lapavitsas (2000), ‘Markets and Money in Social Theory: What Role for Economics?’ 8. Geoffrey Ingham (2001), ‘Fundamentals of a Theory of Money: Untangling Fine, Lapavitsas and Zelizer’ 9. Heiner Ganßmann (1988), ‘Money – A Symbolically Generalized Medium of Communication? On the Concept of Money in Recent Sociology’ PART III MONEY AS MONEY OF ACCOUNT 10. Kevin D. Hoover (1996), ‘Some Suggestions for Complicating the Theory of Money’ 11. J.M. Keynes ([1930] 1971), ‘The Classification of Money’ and ‘Bank Money’ 12. Geoffrey Ingham (1996), ‘Money is a Social Relation’ 13. Luigi Einaudi (1953), ‘The Theory of Imaginary Money from Charlemagne to the French Revolution’ PART IV MONEY AS CREDIT 14. Georg Simmel (1978), ‘The Value of Money as a Substance’ 15. A. Mitchell Innes (1914), ‘The Credit Theory of Money’ 16. Richard Arena and Agnes Festre (1996), ‘Banks, Credit and the Financial System’ 17. A. Graziani (1990), ‘The Theory of the Monetary Circuit’ 18. Alain Parguez and Mario Seccareccia (2000), ‘The Credit Theory of Money: The Monetary Circuit Approach’ PART V MONEY AND THE STATE 19. Charles A.E. Goodhart (1998), ‘The Two Concepts of Money: Implications for the Analysis of Optimal Currency Areas’ 20. Abba P. Lerner (1947), ‘Money as a Creature of the State’ 21. L. Randall Wray (1998), ‘Money and Taxes: The Chartalist Approach’ 22. Stephanie Bell (2000), ‘The Role of the State and the Hierarchy of Money’ 23. David Woodruff (1999), excerpt from ‘Preface’, ‘Making Money’ PART VI THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF MONEY 24. Bruce G. Carruthers and Sarah Babb (1996), ‘The Color of Money and the Nature of Value: Greenbacks and Gold in Postbellum America’ 25. Viviana A. Zelizer (1989), ‘The Social Meaning of Money: “Special Monies”’ Name Index