Political Economy - II. money and capital

26. Far from being a precious commodity that had become readily
accepted through trade as the barter theorists thought, money
as coin has generally been accepted by fiat, that is, issued and
guaranteed by an authority, such as a powerful leader, an office-
holder or a religious organisation. (Mellor 2011)

42. Over the last quarter of a
century something
fundamental seems to
have changed in the way
in which capitalism works.
The tendency since 1970
has been towards greater
geographical mobility of
capital.

43. Rather than being a modest
helper to the capital
accumulation process,
[finance] gradually turned into
a driving force.
Speculative finance became a
kind of secondary engine for
growth given the weakness in
the primary engine, productive
investment.

44. [Lehman collapse, 15 September 2008 - headlines 16 Sep 2008]