Socialism Socialism, economic and social doctrine, political movement inspired by this doctrine, and system or order established when this doctrine is organized in a society. The socialist doctrine demands state ownership and control of the fundamental means of production and distribution of wealth, to be achieved by reconstruction of the existing capitalist or other political […]

Modern Capitalism Two developments paved the way for the emergence of modern capitalism; both took place in the latter half of the 18th century. The first was the appearance of the physiocrats in France after 1750; and the second was the devastating impact that the id eas of Adam Smith had on the principles and […]

Monetary History of Korea South Korea Korea did not begin to use money until the Koryo Period (Goryeo 高 麗) (936-1392 AD) when coins from China’s Song Dynasty (宋朝) (960-1279 AD) were actually imported and began to circulate. Prior to this time, barter based on rice and cloth was the principal means of exchange. The […]

Monetary History of Japan As legend has it, Japan was founded around 660BC by a direct descendent of the Sun Goddess. It is from this basic legend that Japan derives the name of “Land of the Rise Sun.” Japan has a long monetary history which dates back to when coins were first introduced from neighboring Korea […]

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The Paper Chase Part II ©Copyright June 1988 The Panic of 1869, which caused gold to rally significantly, was in itself a sign to the government that paper money would not win the affections and confidence of the people just yet – this would take time. The question of what was actually money remained an […]

  ©Copyright June 1988 The story of paper money goes back a long way. One could argue that its first emergence was even before 2500BC in Bablyon. For the sake of convienence, banking transactions took place in the form of a clay tablet which served as a “letter or credit.” While such forms of money […]

Part III of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  1690 – 1774 AD The eighteenth century was a period of strong economic and political growth for Britain. Constitutional parliamentary government, which had replaced the monarchy, appeared to foster great national expansion. The currency of Britain remained […]

Part II of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  500 AD-1700 AD The fate of the Roman Empire of the West had been cast with the sack of Rome in 410 AD by the Goths followed by the Vandals in 455 AD. What was once Rome […]

Part I of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  3000 BC – 500 AD—The Rise and Fall of Babylon – Greece – Rome Credit is usually thought of as a modern invention of perhaps only a few hundred years old. It is true that a few […]