Emergence. Another Look at the Mengerian Theory of Money

This article examines Menger's theory of money in the lens of the philosophical concept of emergence. While Menger's theory of the emergence of money is well known, the precise nature of this process has been relatively unexplored. The article begins by situating itself within philosophical debates to understand the meaning, scope, and implications of emergence. Section 2 demonstrates that the Mengerian approach is based on an ontology, epistemology, and methodology that differ from those of his contemporaries, particularly Walras. In this approach, the concept of emergence becomes legitimate and even attains the status of an epistemic concept. Finally, we categorise the type of emergence associated with the monetary phenomenon in light of the typology presented in the first section. As a result we argue that money is a weak case of diachronic and epistemological emergence involving a top-down, selective causal effect.