Where does money come from?

James Bruges reviews a new book about the nature of money

The process by which banks create money is so simple that the mind is repelled - JK Galbraith | Photo: MrB-MMX / flickr CC

Spiralling inequality, chaos in the financial world and the Occupy protests force us to engage with economics. Where Does Money Come From? - A Guide to the UK Monetary and Banking System is about money itself, a subject that has, surprisingly, received little attention and about which there is widespread misunderstanding.  The book states: ‘Central banks around the world support the same description of where money comes from. And yet many naturally resist the notion that private banks can really create money by simply making an entry in a ledger.’

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