Money - Whence it came, Where it went

Money – Whence it came, Where it went

By John Kenneth Galbraith

Bantam Books (1975)

I found this book at a second-hand book fair some years back.  At RM3.00 it seemed a bargain. My earlier attempts to read it were not successful – a bit dry, but after “Extreme Money”, I wanted to find out the origins of money.

“Money” is a historical narrative tracing the origins of money from metallic coins to paper currency.  The role played by banks in the creation of money and how Governments use fiscal and monetary policy to promote employment and growth are also explained in some detail.

Money is defined as that which is generally offered or received for the purchase or sale of goods, services or other things.  It loses value or purchasing power over time.  The secret to money’s infinite amplification (read: get rich quick) usually involves the re-discovery of some ancient fraud.  (So beware of all the scams going around, made especially easy by the Internet.)

The book also looks at the gold standard, inflation, effects of war and the various issues concerned with the supply of money.

I probably need a few more re-readings of this book as well as “Extreme Money” to better grasp the issues involved.

This, “Extreme Money” and other related books must be made compulsory reading for “Islamic Scholars” especially those who sit on the Syariah Councils of financial institutions.  I am proposing this as I am now beginning to wonder if banks can ever be considered ‘Islamic’.

Extreme Money

Extreme Money

By Satyajit Das

John Wiley & Sons (2011)

An interesting sub-title, “Masters of the Universe and the Cult of Risk.”

Just like “This Time is Different” the underlying theme of this book is again ‘debt’.  The only difference is here, debt is “financialized”.  This is Extreme Money.

It is interesting reading – a lot of quotes and anecdotes – making the concepts discussed in the book easy to understand.  “There’s hard money, there’s fiat money, and there’s debt. .....  In truth, money exists only in the mind.  It is a matter of trust.  With trust, comes the possibility of betrayal.”

The following illustration is used to explain what has happened:

“There is a box – the original real economy.  In the age of capital, a larger economy appeared, really two boxes stacked on top of each other – the real economy and the extreme money economy, with its excessive debt and speculation.  In the global financial crisis, the extreme money box disappeared, leaving only the smaller real economy once more."

The author’s proposed solution to the financial crisis: “The world has to reduce debt. ... Individuals have to save more and spend less.  Companies have to go back to real engineering.  Governments have to balance their books better. ... The world must live within its means.”

I think that this is a must read for anyone wanting to understand the current global financial situation.