Why Marx does not Need a Commodity Theory of Money

C. J. Arthur (cjarthur@pavilion.co.uk)
Wed, 7 Jan 1998 13:01:08 +0000

Duncan wrote
<I have lost track of the reference, but somewhere in _Capital_ or in the
_Grundrisse_ Marx has a footnote discussing a West African society that
uses imaginary bars of iron as a unit of account, but drops the argument
after some discussion, characterizing them as "idealists".>

The reference is the Gr. CW 29 p.318 but he is merely ironically echoing
Stewart and says nothing substantive. Yet I am sure that somewhere he does
discuss in detail the use of iron bars as units of account differing from
real value.
Chris Arthur