The Money Changers

The common sense view of "money" as a natural and unchanging economic fact is, in reality, a product of contemporary society. Indeed, ever since money was invented there has been fierce debate about its political, economic and ethical character, and a continued discourse, involving academics, political theorists and social reformers, on the best ways to create money, the most effective rules for governing its use, and even the potential benefits of its abolition. Recent years have seen an increasingly powerful resurgence of interest in fundamentally changing national and global systems of currency and in controlling the monetary trends -- the booms and busts of the globalized economy -- that affect all aspects of our lives. Yet few realize that these objections have deep roots and a rich tradition. "The Money Changers" is a unique collection of historical and contemporary thought on the nature of money, combining the political and polemical, the analytical and the visionary. It draws on a wealth of expertise and experience, from the impassioned treatises of reformers such as William Morris, via the mainstream economics of John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek, to the entrepreneurial insight of social activists such as Edgar Cahn and George Soros. This book is a timely guide to the key ideas and ideologues in a fast-moving debate on our economic and social future and will prove informative, enlightening and entertaining for academics and general readers alike.