Sacred Money (English Trans. of Heliges Geld, Bernhard Laum, 2nd ed.)

Abstract

Sacred Money (Heliges Geld), A Historical Investigation into the Sacred Origin of Money, written by Bernhard Laum is a great classic on the history and nature of money. Sacred Money sets forth a surprising and fascinating theme to trace the origin of money to antiquity and to uncover its root from the sacred legal order (nomos) in the ritual. Laum demonstrates that money is a fundamental institution of social life beyond the purely economic domain. He peels away one layer after another until the totality of a chain of events becomes visible to readers finally. He reveals the grand illusion that the modern economy is based on, i.e., the belief in the spontaneous creation of money and the market by free and equal individuals. This book is one of the great classics and also one of the most controversial books in the history of the theory of money, with severe criticism and cyclical revivals of interest among scholars over the last 100 years since its first publication. it is the Long-awaited First English Translation of the Great Classic. Avaiable at Amazon USA.