||貨幣・信用論をめぐる研究状況 : Economy & Society 誌における論争を手掛かりとして《論文》
Contemporary Debates on the Theory of Money and Credit in Economy & Society
泉, 正樹結城, 剛志
58 , 2016-3 , 埼玉大学経済学会
This study analyses the major approaches to frameworks for understanding money. These approaches include those taken by the Marxian, post-Keynesian, and neo-classical schools, and sociologists. The theory of money and credit involves deeply controversial issues. Since the 1970s, financial speculation has been spreading more deeply within global capitalism. The sub-prime mortgage loan problem in the United States was one consequence of this phenomenon. The situation demands an inquiry into the basic question, ‘What is money’ ? In the 2000s, the journal Economy & Society presented an interdisciplinary exchange of opinions and criticism with respect to the traditional understanding of money in mainstream economics, that is, money as the medium of exchange. From a sociological viewpoint, Zelizer（2000） emphasises that money has ‘special’ implications when viewed with regard to different situations, thus it cannot be encapsulated by any single concept. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of post-Keynesian economics, Ingham（2001, 2004） insists that money is the social relation between debts and credits as represented by the money of account. However, from a Marxist viewpoint, Lapavitsas（2005b） understands money as the ‘monopolization of the ability to buy’. Thus, the concept of money has been interpreted in various ways by researchers in different disciplines. Nevertheless, these researchers all conclude that ‘fiat money’ is one of the conditions of money. However, some Japanese Marxian political economists have developed an alternative view which states that pure ‘fiat money’ cannot be explained in principle and does not exist in practice. On the basis of these Japanese studies, we analyse the relationship among these views and attempt to unravel the basic question, ‘What is money’ ?