The State Theory of Money

Moscow: Gaidar Institute Press; St. Petersburg: Center of Economic Culture, 2023. – 392 p. – (Series "New Economic Thinking").

ISBN 978‑5‑93255‑650-4

"The State Theory of Money" by Georg Friedrich Knapp (1842–1926) is perhaps the most sensational book on monetary theory of the XX century. In his work, Knapp formulated and justified the state-nominalist ("khartalnaya") the theory of money. He said that money is a creation of the state, and its material nature does not matter. Knapp's book was a manifesto of nominalism that appeared during the heyday of the metallistic theory of money, which caused a powerful wave of criticism. Supporters of metallism considered it unscientific, since it was not based on economic principles. Despite the fact that the "The State Theory of Money" appeared in 1905, it has not lost its relevance until now. The recently well-known Modern Theory of Money (MMT) is based on the provisions of this theory. This book is a must for those who deal with the problems of the theory of money, and can also be useful to anyone interested in economics and history.