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A Quantum Theory of Money and Value

Author

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  • David Orrell

    (Systems Forecasting, Toronto, Canada)

Abstract

The answer to the question 'what is money?' has changed throughout history. During the Gold Standard era, money was seen as gold or silver (the theory known as bullionism). In the early 20th century, the alternative theory known as chartalism proposed that money was a token chosen by the state for payment of taxes. Today, many economists take an agnostic line, and argue that money is best defined in terms of its function, e.g. as a neutral medium of exchange. This paper argues that none of these approaches adequately describes the nature of money, and proposes a new theory, inspired by non-Newtonian physics, which takes into account the dualistic real/virtual properties and complex nature of money. The theory is applied to the example of the emergence of cybercurrencies.

Suggested Citation

  • David Orrell, 2016. "A Quantum Theory of Money and Value," Economic Thought, World Economics Association, vol. 5(2), pages 19-28, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wea:econth:v:5:y:2016:i:2:p:19
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. William R. White, 2013. "Is Monetary Policy a Science? The Interaction of Theory and Practice over the Last 50 Years," SUERF 50th Anniversary Volume Chapters, in: Morten Balling & Ernest Gnan (ed.), 50 Years of Money and Finance: Lessons and Challenges, chapter 3, pages 73-116, SUERF - The European Money and Finance Forum.
    2. Knapp, Georg Friedrich, 1924. "The State Theory of Money," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number knapp1924.
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    Cited by:

    1. Amarendra Sharma, 2025. "Quantum-Inspired Cournot Model," Papers 2504.19420, arXiv.org.
    2. Holtfort, Thomas, 2023. "Quantenökonomie: Einfluss der Quantenphysik auf ökonomische Entscheidungsprozesse," Arbeitspapiere der FOM 88, FOM Hochschule für Oekonomie & Management.
    3. Laskai András, 2019. "Consciousness system approaches and the financial instruments," International Journal of Science and Business, IJSAB International, vol. 3(1), pages 7-15.
    4. Thomas Holtfort & Andreas Horsch, 2023. "Social science goes quantum: explaining human decision-making, cognitive biases and Darwinian selection from a quantum perspective," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 99-116, August.

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