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SUMMARY:It’s all giving and taking: money and its (societal) values in t
 he course of time - Julia Erdelmann\, Newnham College
DTSTART:20171107T131000Z
DTEND:20171107T140000Z
UID:TALK85901@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Arthur Dudney
DESCRIPTION:Money is clearly one of the most powerful social linkages betw
 een individuals\, groups\, and nation states that exist. Its power of abst
 raction generates equivalences where none existed\, forms the basis of eco
 nomic calculations and has the metaphysical quality of generating offsprin
 g (interest). Sociological enquiry into its emergence and institutional un
 derpinnings brings to the fore its importance for the development of socie
 ties. This seminar will shed light on the historic development of monetary
  values and the effects an apparently abstract economic measurement has on
  shaping societies and the contracts formed between its members.\n\nStarti
 ng with the gift economy – a society functioning entirely without any mo
 netary values – sources of historic anthropology and heterodox economics
  can help us identify and understand the social construction of money and 
 monetary systems\, which will be contrasted with the myth of the barter ec
 onomy put forward by neoclassical economists. This will lead us to appreci
 ate the primary function of money as money of account\, as credit systems 
 predate coins\, and its linkage to debt and accounting systems. The organi
 sing impact accounting in monetary terms had on common economic undertakin
 gs as the nation state formed\, and thus the role it played in the formati
 on of what Weber termed “rational industrial capitalism”\, will allow 
 a critical view on money’s organisational powers in modern-day capitalis
 t societies.\n\nWhat does Weber mean exactly when referring to money’s 
 “rational” character and which societal implications come from Marx’
  observation regarding the fetishism of commodities in a profit-driven eco
 nomy? In the light of newly emerging currencies\, such as bitcoins and oth
 er crypto currencies\, can sociological enquiry into monetary systems prov
 ide an outlook on how social contracts might change in the future?
LOCATION:The Richard King Room\, Darwin College
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