Publisher's Synopsis
The end of the twentieth century brought with it uncertainties about the future in all parts of the world, but out of these experiences comes rich material for reflection on possible future directions of development. This volume represents a tribute to the legacy of Karl Polanyi, in that his work provides the framework and the method of analysis around which work and action can be organized and stimulated. In resistance to the prevailing "seductive" market, and as part of the process of creating, organizing and stimulating an alternative to it, this volume of essays reinterprets the history of economic thought and re-examines monetary theory in general. The authors challenge the idea that money is primarily a "medium of exchange" that developed as a response to the inconvenience of barter. They argue that historically money predates (market) exchange and should be seen fundamentally as a means of payment in discharge of a social obligation.
