New Criticals

As almost every factor of production – money, technology, factories, and equipment – moves effortlessly across borders, the very idea of a [national] economy is becoming meaningless.  – Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor

Georg Simmel, author of The Philosophy of Money, wrote that perfect money would be money that is “detached from every substantial value…perfection is the property of stable money.” This stability of value must be in relation to itself – the quantity of money and commodities, the quality of the latter, and the proportional relationship between the two (prices) – as well as in relation to individuals. For Simmel, money is firstly a social phenomenon expressing the relationships between people, things, and people and things, and as such it is inherently neutral.