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Aug 15, 2024
Money, Going Out of Style
The Story of Money and the Mystery of Its Decline
Summary
What is money? Why are trillions of dollars, euros, pounds, and yen being printed, but not spent, and what does this reveal about the state of our society?
Money, as we know it, was born in 1971 when currencies unlinked from gold. During its adolescence, money was hyperactive, causing rampant inflation. Three decades of mature growth followed. But as it reaches the age of fifty, money is changing again, and facing a figurative mid-life crisis.
Zvi Schreiber's book Money, Going Out of Style: The Story of Money and the Mystery of Its Decline (2021) first offers the reader a clear understanding of economics and the role of money, by following a fictional island tribe as they develop money and an ever more sophisticated economy. The book never forgets that money is secondary to the real economy of goods, services, and tools.
Armed with this deeper appreciation of money and economics, the book returns to the present day to examine money's midlife crisis: the effect of rising inequality, the puzzle of near-zero interest rates, and how this is causing money to go out of style.
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Bernardo Batiz-Lazo
Bernardo Batiz-Lazo is currently straddling between Newcastle and Mexico City. You can find him on twitter on issues related to business history of banking, fintech, payments and other musings. Not always in that order. @BatizLazo