`Money Mischief: Episodes in Monetary History` by Milton Freidman

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`Money Mischief : Episodes in Monetary History` by Milton Friedman

Introduction

Money is what money does . It has been a boiling issue throughout the socio-political-economic saga of mankind . The pages of human history are daubed in bloodshed on issues and conflicts related to money . Money is the crown-jewel of the materialistic civilization of the world impacted by industrial and internet revolutions . The title of the book is most appropriate as it reveals the latent mischievous qualities of money . Money builds as well as it breaks families , social relationships and

understanding between the Nations etc . Therefore , it needs to be handled carefully . It plays the role of the big brother in the socio-economic system of any country . A good chunk of the civil and criminal cases in any court of law are on money-related issues . Money matters pursue an individual from the cradle to the grave and from the womb to the tomb . Milton Friedman won the Nobel Prize for his contribution in the area of `money ' He discusses and tackles the money-issue from the roots . He begins with The Micronesian Yap islands coins that were 12 ft . The currencies of the modern era carry the guarantee only of the Government of the Nation . World monetary history is as complicated as that of human history , if not more . Money has the special relationship with gold . The gold ore discoveries of the 19th century created deep impact for the better , on US and British monetary system

In the book Money Mischief : Episodes in Monetary History Milton Friedman writes , From 1899 to 1919 the Caroline Islands , in Micronesia , were a German colony .As their island yields no metal they have had recourse to stone stone on which labor is fetching and fashioning has been expended , is as truly a representation of labor as the mined and minted coins of civilization (Friedman , 1994 ,

, 3 ) As per the thinking of the Economists of the modern era , amongst the four factors of production , land , labor , capital and organization , labor is considered important . For , capital without labor is dead . People of Caroline Islands knew the importance of labor in the eighteenth century or even earlier ! As for the storage of ownership of their currency their system and beliefs were equally enlightened as that of the modern Central Banks . The author observes , A noteworthy feature of this stone currency .is that it is not necessary for its owner to reduce it to possession . After concluding a bargain which involves the price of a fei too large to be conveniently moved , its new owner is quite content to accept the bare acknowledgement of ownership and without so much as a mark to indicate the exchange , the coin remains undisturbed on the former owner 's premises (Friedman ,

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The life and achievements of Friedman read like a fairy tale and the beliefs and ideas that he propounds , put the final seal as for this aspect . They are all , however , attainable realities concerned with the economics and politics of...