American Monetary Institute: Difference between revisions
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Its research results are published in Director Stephen Zarlenga's 736 page book, ''The Lost Science of Money''. (see http://www.monetary.org/lostscienceofmoney.html) |
Its research results are published in Director Stephen Zarlenga's 736 page book, ''The Lost Science of Money''. (see http://www.monetary.org/lostscienceofmoney.html) |
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This book asserts that money did not emerge from barter between individuals, but rather through trade between tribes and as part of religious worship and sacrifice. This is asserted to be a non-mainstream view. However, other scholars of money such as Keith Hart agree that money developed in this way. It is not clear that this origin is so contested, or what abuse the mainstream derives from asserting that money arose from barter between individuals. |
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Coins represented an advance over weighing out precious metals with a fixed amount of precious metal being stamped so they need not be weighed and could be exchanged more conveniently than lumps of metal which needed to be weighed. However, Zarlenga emphasises the ratio of gold to silver in ancient coinage, and asserts that the variability in this ratio was crucial to understanding trade in the ancient world, the fall of the Roman Empire, and the drive behind the Crusades. |
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The institute is involved in drafting monetary reform legislation based on the historical case studies examined in Zarlenga's book. |
The institute is involved in drafting monetary reform legislation based on the historical case studies examined in Zarlenga's book. |
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Revision as of 10:36, 4 January 2008
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The American Monetary Institute is a non-profit charitable trust organized in 1996 for the "independent study of monetary history, theory and reform."
Its research results are published in Director Stephen Zarlenga's 736 page book, The Lost Science of Money. (see http://www.monetary.org/lostscienceofmoney.html)
This book asserts that money did not emerge from barter between individuals, but rather through trade between tribes and as part of religious worship and sacrifice. This is asserted to be a non-mainstream view. However, other scholars of money such as Keith Hart agree that money developed in this way. It is not clear that this origin is so contested, or what abuse the mainstream derives from asserting that money arose from barter between individuals.
Coins represented an advance over weighing out precious metals with a fixed amount of precious metal being stamped so they need not be weighed and could be exchanged more conveniently than lumps of metal which needed to be weighed. However, Zarlenga emphasises the ratio of gold to silver in ancient coinage, and asserts that the variability in this ratio was crucial to understanding trade in the ancient world, the fall of the Roman Empire, and the drive behind the Crusades.
The institute is involved in drafting monetary reform legislation based on the historical case studies examined in Zarlenga's book.
Each year the Institute holds a monetary reform conference at Roosevelt University in Chicago in late September. (For 2007 it is Sept. 27-30). (see http://www.monetary.org/2007%20conference%20announcement.html)
The American Monetary Institute believes that social reforms can be made to "stick" only if accompanied by the necessary monetary system reforms. That means taking control over the monetary system out of private hands and placing it into the US Treasury. It means money issued by government interest free and spent into circulation to promote the general welfare. It means substantial expenditures on infrastructure, including human infrastructure - education and health care, as the preferred method of putting new money into circulation.
External links
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Related links
- The Ecology of Money by Richard Douthwaite.