This book endeavours to throw light on the phenomenon of money in general in an essentially comparative and therefore concrete way and not from a universalist, dogmatic and abstract standpoint. To do this, it apprehends monetary relations within the particular society to which they belong.

The way in which we conceive of society is a product of our own individual experience, which in turn is shaped by our social relations. The inextricable duality of individual and society takes the most diverse forms over time and in space. One may very well have doubts as to the possibility of...