Metamorphoses of money: From coffers to codes

Abstract

The concept of money continues to be the axle of theorizing in micro and macroeconomics. While transitioning from the homo economicus of orthodox theories to the materialistic man in the era of neoliberalism, money is the marker, if not an absolute measure, for income, wealth, growth, and development of nations, firms as well as individuals (Snooks 2000). Though we continue to reinvent its transactional form over the past five centuries, economic theories are being tested and extended through a lens bound by an obsolete and rather rigid definition of money. Have the distinct theoretical standpoints factored in the dynamism of the concept of money, or will certain theories falter while transcending the traditional form of currency? This article explores the metamorphoses of money through classical, neoclassical, Keynesian, monetarist, and modern monetary theory while trying to understand the recent emergence of the digital asset class.