Suppose that you prefer A to B, B to C, and C to A. Your preferences violate Expected Utility Theory by being cyclic. Money-pump arguments offer a way to show that such violations are irrational. Suppose that you start with A. Then you should be willing to trade A for C and then C for B. But then, once you have B, you are offered a trade back to A for a small cost. Since you prefer A to B, (...) you pay the small sum to trade from B to A. But now you have been turned into a money pump. You are back to the alternative you started with but with less money. This Element shows how each of the axioms of Expected Utility Theory can be defended by money-pump arguments of this kind. The Element also defends money-pump arguments from the standard objections to this kind of approach. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core. (shrink)

It can be hard to see where money fits in the world. Money seems both real and imaginary, since it has obvious causal powers, but is also, just as obviously, something humans have just made up. Recent philosophical accounts of money have declared it to be real, but for very different reasons. John Searle and Francesco Guala disagree over whether money is just whatever acts like money, or just whatever people believe to be money. (...) In developing their accounts of institutions as a part of social reality, each uses money as a paradigm institution, but they disagree on how institutions exist. Searle argues that the institution of money belongs to an ontological level separate from the physical world, held up by the collective intentions of a group, while Guala claims that money is a part of the ordinary physical world and is just whatever performs a “money-like function” in a group, regardless of what that group believes about it. Here, we argue that any purely functional account like Guala’s will be unable to capture the distinctive phenomenon of money, since monetary transactions are defined by the attitudes transactors hold toward them. Money will be obscured or misidentified if defined functionally. As we go on to show by examining recent work by Smit et al., belief in money does not require taking on all of Searle’s ontological commitments, but money and mental contents will stand or fall together. (shrink)

Modern money theory is a conjecture concerning fiscal spending and the nature of money. I show that modern money theory provides two interesting insights into distributive justice that have not been addressed in the recent Anglo-American distributive justice literature: (i) that the nature of a sovereign fiat currency allows for some distributive conflicts to be avoided; and (ii) that recent Anglo- American distributive justice theories assume that the economy is at capacity. Based on this, I consider if (...) the policy results of modern money theory can help foster a sense of justice. (shrink)

This article provides a property analysis of electronic money, showing that the issuance of electronic money cannot involve a trust. The analysis is also applicable to other digital assets that may be said to involve a trust, and as such provides a timely contribution to current discussions on the legal nature and categorisation of digital assets both in the UK and internationally.

Completeness says that, for every pair of prospects, at least one of the prospects is at least as preferred as the other. I present a new money-pump argument that Completeness is a requirement of rationality. In comparison with earlier money-pump arguments for Completeness, this argument relies on a unidimensional form of stochastic dominance and the behavioural assumption that agents pick in a probabilistic manner when no option is optimal. Moreover, unlike some of the previous arguments, the new argument (...) is based on a forcing money pump, that is, an exploitation scheme where the agent is rationally required at each step to go along with the scheme. (shrink)

In response to cases that involve tiny probabilities of huge payoffs, some argue that we ought to discount small probabilities down to zero. However, this paper shows that doing so violates Independence and Continuity, and as a result of these violations, those who discount small probabilities can be exploited by money pumps. Various possible ways of avoiding exploitation will be discussed. This paper concludes that the money pump for Independence undermines the plausibility of discounting small probabilities. Much of (...) the discussion on Independence generalizes to other views that also violate Independence. (shrink)

A review of Michael's Sandel's book, "What Money Can't Buy" (Allen Lane 2012).

In “The Irrelevance of the Diachronic Money-Pump Argument for Acyclicity,” The Journal of Philosophy CX, 8 (August 2013), 460-464, Johan E. Gustafsson contends that if Davidson, McKinsey and Suppes’ diachronic money-pump argument in their "Outlines of a Formal Theory of Value, I," Philosophy of Science 22 (1955), 140-160 is valid, so is the synchronic argument Gustafsson himself offers. He concludes that the latter renders irrelevant diachronic choice considerations in general, and the two best-known diachronic solutions to the (...) class='Hi'>money pump problem in particular. I argue here that this reasoning is incorrect, and that Gustafsson’s synchronic argument is faulty on independent grounds. Specifically, it is based on a false analogy between the derivation of a synchronic ordinal ranking from a transitive series of pairwise comparisons, and the putative derivation of such a ranking from an intransitive series. The latter is not possible under the assumption of revealed preference theory, and is highly improbable even if that assumption is rejected. Moreover, Gustafsson’s argument raises issues of fidelity to the historical texts that must be addressed. I conclude that the money pump, and cyclical choice more generally, are necessarily diachronic; and therefore that the two best-known diachronic solutions to the money pump problem remain relevant. (shrink)

So-called money pump arguments aim to show that intransitive preferences are irrational because they will lead someone to accept a series of deals that leaves his/her financially worse off and better off in no respect. A common response to these arguments is the foresight response, which counters that the agent in question may see the exploitation coming, and refuse to trade at all. To obviate this response, I offer a “deluxe money pump argument” that applies dominance reasoning to (...) a modified money pump case. (shrink)

This document presents a conceptual philosophy of money as a dynamic, flowing entity rather than a static resource. Money is modeled analogously to physical systems such as fluids, electric charge, and polarization in materials. The framework emphasizes multiple local equilibria, value-driven flow, and long-term growth of total wealth through value generation, while acknowledging local scarcity, excess, and tension.

Money represents a future commodity ownership. However, the only way of keeping this ownership rightful, hence decentralized, is to price commodities in metarepresented money. Any otherwise priced future ownership will not remain rightfully decentralized. This article explains why, by deriving the concepts, first of generic money, then of privately concrete money, and finally of metarepresented money from direct commodity exchange.

General perception that money can buy happiness has been refuted in this article.

This paper assesses the proposal to transform the monetary system into an Ecology of money, that is, into a system made of a large diversity of complementary currencies. Its central aim is to examine whether this proposal could provide a systemic solution to both the ecological and financial crises, as several authors, most notably Lietaer and Douthwaite, have argued. To this end, it analyses the two main arguments in favour of this proposal. First, it focuses on the claim that (...) an Ecology of money would be more resilient and less prone to crisis than the present monetary system. It shows that this argument suffers from several conceptual flaws and argues that it fails to provide sufficient normative reasons to favour an Ecology of money. Second, this paper analyses the claim that an Ecology of money could help defeat the monetary growth imperative that supposedly plagues our economies. The paper raises serious doubts about the existence of such an imperative and questions the claim that an Ecology of money could contribute to weaken it in a significant way. (shrink)

There are many explanations for the value of money, but they all seem to depend on things like "trust," "shared fiction," "agreement" or even potentially circular logic like that money's value is based on its usefulness as money. But there is a full process by which money, the desire we feel for it, and even how we end up trading it, can emerge naturally from the dynamics of natural selection and human interaction, with a basis in (...) real value, and happening repeatedly and reliably, even if a group of people all agree that money or precious metals are worthless. We discuss this fully in the paper "The Monetary Instinct," but here, for accessibility's sake, the entire concept is described in one-page. (shrink)

God is once again afoot in the public sphere. Politics has become a religious obligation. For a new breed of religious nationalist the nation-state is a vehicle of the divine. This essay seeks to accomplish four things. The first is to argue for an institutional approach to religious nationalism in order both to interpret and explain it. Second, I argue that religion and nationalism partake of a common symbolic order and that religious nationalism is therefore not an oxymoron. Third, the (...) essay seeks to explain why religion has become such a potent political force in our time. And fourth—the task that will take up the bulk of the text—it seeks a principle of intelligibility in the semiotic order of religious nationalism that can comprehend its preoccupation with both women's erotic bodies and monies out of national control. (shrink)

This article is an attempt to sketch a philosophical view of money as a social phenomenon. I show that the way to understand the substance of money is to analyze its meaning as a medium of exchange in connection with its meaning as a purpose of exchange, thereby providing an investigation of its social value. This approach has been used by many of the great philosophers and economists of the past, but not today. Modern economics is a policy (...) oriented theoretical discipline and concentrates its efforts on solving practical tasks. I hope to contribute a philosophical approach to economic research. (shrink)

Despite the many advantages that mobile money o ers to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) relative to traditional banking services, the majority of stakeholders of this platform have not yet maximised its use owing to several concerns not limited to trust, awareness, and even cost. To examine the factors justifying the adoption and usage of Mobile Money Services (MMS) among SMEs, the types of Mobile Money Services used by these SMEs, and the interdependences between these variables, this (...) study adopted an exploratory approach. The researchers elected to use a mixed-method approach, which necessitated the usage of a survey questionnaire and structured in-depth interviews. Representatives of 12 SMEs were interviewed during the qualitative phase to corroborate the 285 SMEs surveyed in the quantitative part of the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were adopted to analyse the quantitative data using the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences version 26 (SPSS version 26). The researchers described the qualitative data according to themes, and the findings were combined after that. While no single factor was accountable, it emerged that accessibility, safety, and convenience were the main factors that entice SMEs in Douala, Cameroon to embrace mobile money services in the effort to receive money from clientele, pay suppliers, and purchase airtime for additional transactions (most preferred mobile money services). Furthermore, it was found that there was a statistically significant association between most of the motivating factors cited and the most preferred mobile money services used by SMEs in Douala. These findings validate the role that mobile money plays in promoting the inclusive finance agenda for SMEs, mainly in the context of emerging economies where the majority of people and businesses do not have access to banking services and therefore may be of interest to policymakers and different stakeholders. Furthermore, an identification of the types of mobile money services businesspersons mostly use in Douala, a business hub, may help to develop businesses by directing the stakeholders to agenda items of interest in the context of Cameroon. (shrink)

Abstract -/- This paper develops a framework for achieving economic balance across six critical variables: money supply, salary levels, number of dependents per earner, job creation, prices of goods and services, and the degree of market competition. Each factor is analyzed individually—its role in the economy, mechanisms for adjustment, and illustrative examples—then the inter‑connections are mapped, and policy implications are drawn. The goal is to propose a systemic approach whereby adjustments in one variable can be coordinated with the others (...) to preserve equilibrium and promote sustainable growth, social welfare, and price stability. -/- . (shrink)

Abstract This paper examines the effects of money printing versus taxation on an economy, emphasizing the consequences for inflation and real purchasing power. Using a hypothetical economy of 100 million people with a total production of $1,000 billion, we analyze how government monetary policies affect average income, prices, and consumption. Special attention is given to the role of relative prices, consumer behavior, savings, and investments in moderating or amplifying inflationary pressures. The paper illustrates the concepts with comprehensive examples and (...) references established economic theory. -/- . (shrink)

Introduction The central bank and government are primarily responsible for managing the total money supply in a nation. The central bank regulates liquidity, credit, and interest rates, while the government implements fiscal policies through taxation and spending. At first glance, this seems to give authorities the power to ensure an equal flow of money across all citizens. Yet in reality, money does not circulate equally among the population. Instead, inequalities persist between the rich and poor, urban and (...) rural, and different social groups. This essay examines why this unequal distribution occurs, with examples from the United States, the Philippines, and China. -/- . (shrink)

This paper presents Adam Smith's account of the origins of money. It is famously rejected by historians and anthropologists. But it contains a useful warning against over-specialization and allows us to identify a value of premise-by-premise reconstructions: it can function as a kind of money. Speaking of traps, when I think of philosopher Saul Kripke on the surprise exam paradox and how I can become more like Kripke, I think it would lead to me falling into a trap. (...) A first appendix concerns third or fourth rate books kept in a cull. A second appendix concerns a**holes by custom ("No talk of this being a Helen Beebee imitation today?") NOTE: you probably need to download this paper. Above is the abstract. (shrink)

From birth to adulthood, parents invest vast amounts of money, time, and energy into their children. Education, nutrition, healthcare, and social development all require resources. But the deeper irony is this: we prepare our children using money — only for them to grow up and spend their lives earning money. This cycle has become the unchallenged blueprint of modern civilization. But should it be?

In The Construction of Social Reality, John Searle develops a theory of institutional facts and objects, of which money, borders and property are presented as prime examples. These objects are the result of us collectively intending certain natural objects to have a certain status, i.e. to ‘count as’ being certain social objects. This view renders such objects irreducible to natural objects. In this paper we propose a radically different approach that is more compatible with standard economic theory. We claim (...) that such institutional objects can be fully understood in terms of actions and incentives, and hence the Searlean apparatus solves a non-existent problem. (shrink)

What does being money consist in? We argue that something is money if, and only if, it is typically acquired in order to realise the reduction in transaction costs that accrues in virtue of agents coordinating on acquiring the same thing when deciding what thing to acquire in order to exchange. What kinds of things can be money? We argue against the common view that a variety of things (notes, coins, gold, cigarettes, etc.) can be money. (...) All monetary systems are best interpreted as implementing the same basic protocol. Money, i.e. the thing that we coordinate on acquiring in order to lower our transaction costs, is, in all cases, a set of positions on an abstract mathematical object, namely a relative ratio scale. The things that we ordinarily call ‘money’ are merely records of positions on such a scale. (shrink)

This essay investigates triadic patterns of argument in the thought of Moses Hess. Three kinds of triadic thinking are distinguished: the triadic pattern of three succeeding ages of mankind; the triadic pattern of original unity, fallen or alienated existence, and return to unity on a higher level; and the triad of head, heart and stomach, a symbolism which recurs in the writings of the Young Hegelians. Distinguishing these patterns throws an interesting light on the similarities and differences between the views (...) of Hess and Marx on the role of the proletariat in history. A translation by the author of Hess's "On the Essence of Money" is appended to the essay. (shrink)

The advent of virtual currencies such as bitcoin raises a pressing question for lawmakers, regulators, and judges: should bitcoin and other virtual currencies be classified as money or currency for legal and regulatory purposes? I examine two different approaches to answering this question—a descriptive approach and a normative approach. The descriptive approach says that bitcoin and other virtual currencies should be classified as money or currency just in case they really are money or currency, whereas the normative (...) approach says that this question of classification should be answered on the basis of substantive normative considerations. I argue against the descriptive approach and in favor of the normative approach. (shrink)

There is a long-standing debate in philosophy about whether it is morally permissible to harm one person in order to prevent a greater harm to others and, if not, what is the moral principle underlying the prohibition. Hypothetical moral dilemmas are used in order to probe moral intuitions. Philosophers use them to achieve a reflective equilibrium between intuitions and principles, psychologists to investigate moral decision-making processes. In the dilemmas, the harms that are traded off are almost always deaths. However, the (...) moral principles and psychological processes are supposed to be broader than this, encompassing harms other than death. Further, if the standard pattern of intuitions is preserved in the domain of economic harm, then that would open up the possibility of studying behavior in trolley problems using the tools of experimental economics. We report the results of two studies designed to test whether the standard patterns of intuitions are preserved when the domain and severity of harm are varied. Our findings show that the difference in moral intuitions between bystander and footbridge scenarios is replicated across different domains and levels of physical and non-physical harm, including economic harms. (shrink)

The money-pump argument aims to show that cyclic preferences are irrational. The argument can be based on a number of different exploitation schemes that vary in what needs to be assumed about the agent. The Standard Money Pump works for myopic and naive agents, but not for sophisticated agents who use backward induction. The Upfront Money Pump works for sophisticated agents, but not for myopic or naive agents. In this paper, I present a new money pump, (...) the Universal Money Pump, that works for myopic, naive, and sophisticated agents. Moreover, the Universal Money Pump (just like the Upfront Money Pump) also works for minimally sophisticated agents who need not assume that they will choose rationally at nodes that can only be reached by irrational choices. This enables an argument that rational preferences are acyclic, which is based on weaker assumptions about dynamic rationality than existing money-pump arguments. (shrink)

The current economic and societal production system gives money a magnified importance, overlooking other essential flows necessary for human survival and existence. It focuses on monetary indicators like profits, dividends, and GDPs to evaluate organizational production, while often disregarding outputs that harm the biosphere. Money is treated as the constitutive being (ousia) and attributed undemonstrated explanatory properties. Intangible flow theory helps eliminate this metaphysical status of money by recognizing that monetary flows are just one of many necessary (...) flows for human survival and existence. Organizations deliver product-flows that require input-flows from and send output-flows back to the encompassing biosphere, whether they explicitly engage in environmentally friendly activities or not. Therefore, every organization is an ecological entity because it has a relationship with the biosphere, which participates in the manner through which humans integrate into their surrounding environment and relate to other living beings. Eliminating the metaphysical status of money integrates every organization in the biosphere, making organizations accountable for environmental harm caused by their activities. This can be achieved by deconstructing the metaphysical status of money in business models. (shrink)

Often financially excluded by the traditional banking system, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in many developing countries have found in mobile money services (MMS) a sustainable alternative. Despite its potential in propelling inclusive growth, the use and adoption of mobile money (MM) by SMEs has generally been low in developing countries, and one of the reasons has been limited data that supported its impact on financial performance. As a result, there was a need to investigate the impact of (...) the mobile money payment and receipt services on the financial performance of the SMEs in Cameroon. This paper implemented a mixed research paradigm with data collected through the administration of a survey questionnaire and from one-on-one in-depth interviews. A sample of 285 SMEs responded to the survey, while 12 owners/managing directors were purposively selected to participate in the personal interviews. Version 25 of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to analyse the quantitative data, while the qualitative data was analysed along themes. The results were, after that, triangulated for credibility reasons. The concluding findings indicated that the mobile money payment and receipt services contributed of the order of 73% of the total variance in the turnover of the SMEs in Douala after they had begun to use the technology. By confirming the positive relationship between the use of mobile money services and the financial performance of businesses, it is hoped that all the relevant stakeholders will see this as a possible solution to the financial challenges that SMEs face in developing economies. (shrink)

I show, in words of one block of sound, that, while those whose likes form a loop could stop some wealth pumps if they now did what they would like most based on what they thought they would do next, there are wealth pumps they could not stop in that way.

Introduction Money, in its most fundamental sense, is not static but circulates continuously within the economy. When individuals or institutions convert money into assets, the process does not eliminate monetary value; rather, it redirects it into new pathways. Assets, therefore, represent stored value, while money continues its flow, facilitating trade, investment, and economic growth. Understanding this dynamic between monetary flow and asset storage is crucial for grasping how wealth is created, preserved, and circulated in both microeconomic and (...) macroeconomic contexts. -/- . (shrink)

The notion of “worth” and “value” throughout human history was only partly dependent on economic reasons. Arrangements about what is considered an equivalent value/measure of wealth are the result of complex interdependencies of economic, social and cultural factors. For thousands of years people have used precious metals as universal equivalent and main measure of wealth; full-value metal money was, in fact, only reinforced by the authority of state (ruler) evidence of presence certain amount of precious metal. The rejection of (...) valuable coins and the provision of banknotes with precious metals (that is, the rejection of the gold and the silver standard) led to the fact that the circulating money signs in the society ceased to denote a concrete value, becoming an abstraction, putting the population in dependence on state’s monetary policy and financial stability of national economy. Bitcoin and its numerous alternatives arose as a response to the challenge of informatization, globalization and individualization of economic activity. This is an attempt to escape from control of state structures that are inclined to abuse their right to issue banknotes and to voluntaristic methods of managing the economy. To some extent, the cryptocurrencies reflect the nostalgia of market participants on the gold standard, which is surprisingly transformed into a complete denial of the materiality (including the metal substance) of money. This situation stimulates the search for new models for designation the equivalent value in the information society. (shrink)

Once widely accepted among economists and philosophers, the commodity theory of money—the idea that money is fundamentally a commodity used as a medium of exchange—has since fallen out of favor due to strong objections raised against it. This paper argues for a refined version of the commodity theory—the pure commodity theory—which strips away the excess baggage of the standard commodity theory and thereby avoids these objections. Three main takeaways of the paper are: (i) the origin of money (...) is not essential to its nature; (ii) some commodities, including some forms of money, are immaterial continuants and should not be conflated with services; and (iii) the claim or credit theory of money, insofar as it solves the problem of the double coincidence of wants, ultimately collapses into a version of the commodity theory of money. (shrink)

Abstract -/- In capitalist economies, money is often misconceived as the origin of wealth. This misperception arises because money functions both as a medium of exchange and as a mobilizer of labor and natural resources. While minerals, raw materials, and human labor exist independently of monetary systems, money organizes and coordinates these elements into productive capital. This paper examines the mechanisms through which money activates labor and resources, explores the compounding effect of reinvestment and credit, and (...) analyzes why money appears to generate wealth from nothing. Real-world examples from multiple sectors illustrate these principles, supported by references to classical, Marxian, and modern economic theory. -/- . (shrink)

Local human rights organizations (LHROs) are key domestic and transnational actors, modifying, diffusing, and promoting liberal norms; mobilizing citizens; networking with the media and activists; and pressuring governments to implement international commitments. These groups, however, are reliant on international funds. This makes sense in politically repressive environments, where potential donors fear government retaliation, but is puzzling elsewhere. We interviewed 263 LHRO leaders and key informants from 60 countries, and conducted statistically representative surveys of 6180 respondents in India, Mexico, Morocco, and (...) Nigeria. Based on these data, we believe LHRO funding in non-repressive environments is shaped by philanthropic logics of appropriateness. In the late 1990s, transnational activists successfully mainstreamed human rights throughout the international donor assistance community, freeing up development money for LHROs. Domestic activists in the global South have not promoted similar philanthropic transformations at home, where charitable giving still focuses on traditional institutions. Instead, domestic rights activists have followed the path of least resistance toward international aid, a logic of outcomes produced by variations in global logics of (philanthropic) appropriateness. (shrink)

The evaluation of labour markets and of particular jobs ought to be sensitive to a plurality of benefits and burdens of work. We use the term 'the goods of work' to refer to those benefits of work that cannot be obtained in exchange for money and that can be enjoyed mostly or exclusively in the context of work. Drawing on empirical research and various philosophical traditions of thinking about work we identify four goods of work: 1) attaining various types (...) of excellence; 2) making a social contribution; 3) experiencing community; and 4) gaining social recognition. Our account of the goods of work can be read as unpacking the ways in which work can be meaningful. The distribution of the goods of work is a concern of justice for two conjoint reasons: First, they are part of the conception of the good of a large number of individuals. Second, in societies without an unconditional income and in which most people are not independently wealthy, paid work is non-optional and workers have few, if any, occasions to realize these goods outside their job. Taking into account the plurality of the goods of work and their importance for justice challenges the theoretical and political status quo, which focuses mostly on justice with regard to the distribution of income. We defend this account against the libertarian challenge that a free labour market gives individuals sufficient options to realise the goods of work important to them, and discuss the challenge from state neutrality. In the conclusion, we hint towards possible implications for today’s labour markets. (shrink)

The Flow of Money in the Economy: Conversion into Assets and Changing Velocity -/- Money is the lifeblood of an economy, continuously circulating and changing hands in various forms. At its core, all cash flows through the economy by being converted into assets with monetary value. The amount of money in circulation and its velocity—how quickly it moves from one transaction to another—fluctuate over time, shaping economic activity and stability. This essay explores the mechanisms through which (...) class='Hi'>money flows, how it is converted into assets, and the dynamic changes in its volume and velocity. -/- The Conversion of Money into Assets -/- Every monetary transaction ultimately results in the conversion of cash into assets, whether tangible or intangible. This transformation occurs through various channels: -/- 1. Consumption and Investment -/- Money is frequently exchanged for goods and services that hold economic value, such as food, housing, and technology. These purchases represent an immediate transformation of cash into assets that provide utility to individuals and businesses. -/- Investments, including stocks, bonds, and real estate, convert money into financial assets that can appreciate in value or generate returns over time. -/- From low-income individuals to billionaires, all spending and investments are ultimately converted into assets with monetary value. These may include consumer goods, luxury items, corporate investments, or large-scale financial portfolios. -/- 2. Banking and Credit Creation -/- Money deposited in banks does not remain idle. Through fractional reserve banking, financial institutions lend out a portion of these deposits, effectively converting cash into new financial assets in the form of loans and credit. -/- This process expands the money supply by creating credit-based assets while maintaining a continuous flow of money within the economy. -/- 3. Government Spending and Taxation -/- Governments collect money through taxes and redistribute it via public expenditures, such as infrastructure projects, social services, and defense. -/- Public spending leads to the creation of physical and human capital assets, contributing to economic growth and societal development. -/- 4. Foreign Trade and Exchange Markets -/- Money flows between economies through imports and exports, converting into international assets. -/- Foreign direct investments (FDI) and currency exchanges further influence the global movement of money, shaping its conversion into diverse forms of assets. -/- The Changing Amount and Velocity of Money -/- While money is always in circulation, its flow rate and volume fluctuate due to several factors: -/- 1. Economic Cycles -/- During economic booms, money moves rapidly as businesses expand, consumers spend more, and investment activity increases. -/- In contrast, recessions slow down the velocity of money as people and businesses hold onto cash, reducing overall economic activity. -/- 2. Inflation and Deflation -/- Inflation decreases the purchasing power of money, leading individuals and companies to spend more quickly before prices rise further, increasing velocity. -/- Deflation has the opposite effect, causing people to hoard money in anticipation of lower prices, thereby slowing economic activity. -/- 3. Monetary Policy and Interest Rates -/- Central banks influence money flow by adjusting interest rates and implementing monetary policies that control liquidity. -/- Lower interest rates encourage borrowing and spending, accelerating money circulation, while higher rates reduce it. -/- 4. Technological Advances and Digital Payments -/- The rise of digital transactions, mobile banking, and cryptocurrencies has increased the speed of money flow. -/- Faster transaction processing reduces the time money remains idle, enhancing its velocity within the economy. -/- Conclusion -/- The flow of money within an economy is a dynamic process, continuously converting cash into assets while fluctuating in volume and velocity. Every transaction contributes to this transformation, whether through consumption, investment, banking, government activity, or international trade. From everyday consumers to billionaires, all spending and investments ultimately convert into assets with monetary value, reinforcing economic activity at all levels. Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for policymakers, businesses, and individuals alike, as managing money supply and velocity effectively determines economic stability and growth. In an era of digital finance and globalized markets, the ability to track and regulate these flows remains both a key challenge and an opportunity for sustaining economic prosperity. -/- . (shrink)

Abstract This paper examines whether the continuous increase in money supply globally is directly caused by the rising wealth of the world’s richest billionaires. It distinguishes between money supply and wealth increase, explains how money supply is measured and controlled by central banks, and explores how asset price inflation contributes to wealth accumulation among billionaires. Using real-world examples, particularly the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic response, the paper elucidates how monetary policy and banking systems influence (...) economic dynamics and wealth distribution. -/- . (shrink)

E-money systems have revolutionized global business transactions through digital payment methods. This quantitative correlational study aimed to assess the awareness and acceptance of e-money among individuals in Balayan, Batangas. Employing quota and purposive sampling, 100 participants aged 21 to 70 completed a survey questionnaire. Statistical analysis revealed that consumers were aware of e-money but lacked comprehensive knowledge. They acknowledged the convenience of e-money for online shopping and expense tracking. Age significantly influenced acceptance, while gender did not (...) exhibit a similar effect. Significant differences were observed in awareness and acceptance levels. Recommendations for improving acceptance include administrator-led campaigns, business incentives, consumer education, financial institution partnerships, and integration into student curricula. The study underscores the need for targeted strategies to translate e-money knowledge into practical use. Future research should explore adoption trends over time, barriers, and the impact of regulations on e-money utilization. (shrink)

This research paper investigates the transformative applications of data visualization techniques in the realm of financial crime detection, with a specific emphasis on addressing the challenges posed by credit card fraud and money laundering. The abstract explores the intricate landscape of visualizing financial data to uncover patterns, anomalies, and potential illicit activities. Through a comprehensive review of existing methodologies and case studies, the paper illuminates the pivotal role data visualization plays in enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of fraud detection (...) systems. By synergizing advanced visualization tools with machine learning algorithms, the study aims to provide insights into how financial institutions can bolster their defenses against evolving threats. Ethical considerations, usability, and the real-world impact of data visualization in combating financial crime are also scrutinized. This research contributes to the evolving discourse on leveraging visualization technologies to fortify financial systems against illicit activities, fostering a proactive and responsive approach to safeguarding economic ecosystems. (shrink)

Abstract This paper explores the connection between economic systems and the Universal Law of Balance in Nature, as expressed through Angelito Malicse’s Universal Formula consisting of three universal laws. It examines how the circulation of money functions analogously to energy flow in natural systems and how imbalances in money distribution reflect systemic errors that violate the law of balance. Drawing examples from both global and Philippine contexts, the paper highlights how wealth concentration, unemployment, and weak money velocity (...) signal an imbalance in economic homeostasis. It concludes that a balanced economic system must follow the natural principles of feedback, proportional distribution, and system integrity to sustain stability and harmony. -/- . (shrink)

Introduction Wealth accumulation is a natural behavior grounded in human evolution, economic systems, and cultural values. Yet, when unchecked, it can lead to profound imbalance—socially, economically, and ecologically. This paper explores how wealth accumulation relates to the total money supply and total population, emphasizing the need to correct systemic imbalances through a set of comprehensive, holistic solutions. It also draws from Angelito Malicse’s concept of the universal law of balance in nature, a principle that helps us understand when systems (...) become dysfunctional due to disproportionate accumulation. -/- . (shrink)

This article is a theoretical treatment of the ways in which local worldviews on wealth acquisition give rise to contemporary manifestations of spirituality in cyberspace. It unpacks spiritual (occult) economies and wealth generation through a historical perspective. The article ‘devil advocates’ the ‘sainthood’ of claimed law-abiding citizens, by highlighting that the line dividing them and the Nigerian cybercriminals (Yahoo-Boys) is blurred with regards to the use of magical means for material ends. By doing so, the article also illustrates that the (...) intersectionality of the spirit world and the acquisition of wealth (crime or otherwise) is connected with local epistemologies and worldviews, and its contemporaneity has social security benefits. Therefore, the view that the contemporary manifestations of spirituality in cyberspace signify a ‘new-danger’ and an ever-increasing outrage in the Nigerian society is misplaced. I conclude that if people believe all aspects of life are reflective of the spiritual world and determined by it, the spiritual realm, by implication, is the base of society, upon which sits the superstructure comprised of all aspects of life, especially wealth. Inferentially, this conceptual position that the spirit world is the base of society is an inversion of Orthodox Marxist’s theory of economic determinism. (shrink)

An examination of Emmanuel Levinas’ writings on money reveals his distance from—and indebtedness to—a philosophical predecessor, Georg Simmel. Levinas and Simmel share a phenomenological approach to analyses of the proximity of the stranger, the importance of the face, and the interruption of the dyadic relationship by the third. Money is closely linked to the conception of totality because money is the medium that compares heterogeneous values. Levinas goes beyond Simmel in positing an ethical relation to money (...) permitting transcendence. (shrink)

Thomas Hobbes wrote in his Leviathan that money exchanging hands, monetary policies, activities, and transactions are the blood of the “Leviathan” - the eponymous subject of the book. Hobbes writes that this Leviathan's “blood” includes the “collectors, receivers, and treasurers; of the second are the treasurers again, and the officers appointed for payment of several public or private ministers.” Hobbes, follows this with an analogy of a living man, stating that this “artificial man maintains his resemblance with the natural (...) [man]; whose veins, receiving the blood from the several parts of the body, carry it to the heart; where, being made vital, the heart by the arteries sends it out again, to enliven and enable for motion all the members of the same.” Hobbes maintains a parallel between the natural man and what he calls the “artificial man”, the state throughout his Leviathan. -/- Ultimately, the mechanisms of finance in the United States are the accumulation of historical precedents - both legal and non-legal (such as economic, but also social). These precedents have led to the current system, on a continuing and settled basis. The legal and economic systems merging for the best system of an international monetary order can represent a balance of legal realism and legal formalism. -/- “Money” is printed by the U.S. government, designated as an official note. Value is correlated with how many of those printed pieces of paper exist. This is the basic concept of inflation. This concept of value and inflation is said to be connected to a commodity - such as how much gold or silver existed in the Federal Reserve's physical locations or Fort Knox. Such systems have been in place since at least Mesopotamia, where clay tablets were used to represent credit, or comparable contracts that seem to resemble modern forms of fiat currency. (shrink)

To comprehend and work out what is wrong with the existing world order, Alf Hornborg embraced and advanced Karl Marx’s notion of fetishism of commodities, going beyond him by extending the notion of fetishism to machines. In doing so, he showed the role of technology in imposing and entrenching exploitative and ecological destructive social relations on a global scale. This fetishism is manifest in the belief that technological progress is unstoppable and underpins progress generally. While endorsing and defending Hornborg’s work, (...) I will argue that Hornborg’s contextualist stance of human ecology should incorporate political philosophy, thereby spearheading a challenge to the dominant worldview of modernity and the socioeconomic order it has created. Hornborg’s advances have been facilitated by his point of departure in anthropology, particularly cultural ecology, economic anthropology and ecological anthropology, incorporated into the broader framework of human ecology, recontextualizing knowledge and experience and challenging the blindness to contextual relations characteristic of mainstream modernity. Theoretical work in human ecology, recognizing the distinctiveness of humans while situating humanity within nature, advances a process-relational ontology. To realize the full potential of this, I will argue, it is necessary for human ecology to fully overcome the opposition between the sciences and humanities and embrace and advance the humanities, most importantly, ethics and political philosophy. In doing so, human ecology provides the basis for overcoming the is-ought dichotomy and supporting advances in communitarian ethics and politics. Reviving radical politics, human ecology should then serve as the core of an open, dialogically developing grand narrative upholding the value of life and the conditions for it, working towards an ecological civilization. (shrink)

The economics and cybernetic circuit of the energetics of money is explained via formal and logical statements.

John Searle has proposed one of the most influential contemporary accounts of social ontology. According to Searle, institutional facts are created by the collective assignment of a specific kind of function —status-function— to pre-existing objects. Thus, a piece of paper counts as money in a certain context because people collectively recognize it as money, and impose a status upon it, which in turn enables that piece of paper to deliver certain functions (means of payment, etc.). The first part (...) of this essay presents Searle’s theory of social ontology and summarizes his views on money. The second part centers on criticisms of his views and compares his theory with its main competitors, including the theories of Tuomela, Guala and Hindriks, and Smit, Buekens and Duplessis. The conclusion attempts to see what may remain of Searle’s theory after careful examination. (shrink)