But let us begin at the beginning, by exploring some deceptively 'obvious' Features of today, conventional money. CHAPTER 2 Today's Money 路 'The study of money, above all fields in economics, is the one in which complexity is used to disguise truth, or evade truth, not to reveal it.' - John Kenneth Galbriath 路 'The thing that separates man from animals is money. - Gertrude Stein, 1936 路 'The only thing money cannot buy is meaning.' - Jacob Needleman
'Mum could I have some money to buy some sweets?' For most of us, our first experience of money is as a necessary object in the ritual of getting the things we want from shops. We accept it with the pragmatism of an innocent child, unaware of the mystery behind the transaction. As we mature, we become conversant in many adult mysteries. We learn where babies come from, and participate in that process. We learn that ah living things eventually die, and witness the death of a relative, friend, or perhaps a pet. We learn how our government works, and who makes the rules by which we are required to live. And yet one of the central mysteries of our lives as social beings money - remains completely obscure to virtually everyone. Most