Description
Symbolisms of Money
Book Summary
This work offers an innovative look at money, analyzing it not only as an economic instrument, but as a profound cultural and symbolic phenomenon. The author, Juan Castaingts Teillery, uses tools from symbolic anthropology, social representation theory, and the study of institutions to demonstrate that money is a "total social fact." Through a multidisciplinary approach that integrates the theory of complex adaptive systems, the book reveals how money structures our social relationships, our identity, and our worldview, beyond its transactional function.
What is it about?
The book starts from a central premise: money is much more than a medium of exchange. Through anthropological analysis, it examines how banknotes, coins, and digital representations of value function as symbols charged with meaning. The work explores the semiotic relationship between the possessor of money, the central bank (in the case of legal tender), and private banks (in accounts and cards), unraveling the networks of trust, power, and meaning that sustain the monetary system. It studies the social representations that legitimize money as an institution and analyzes its role in shaping contemporary subjectivity, all from the perspective of complex adaptive systems to understand its current dynamics.
Main themes
- Symbolic anthropology of money: analysis of money as a symbol and its cultural significance.
- Theory of social representations applied to economics and monetary institutions.
- Money as a "total social fact": its interconnected economic, social, and symbolic dimensions.
- Monetary semiotics: the relationships of meaning between users, central banks, and private entities.
- Complex adaptive systems in the study of the contemporary monetary phenomenon.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at students and researchers of anthropology, sociology, economics, and social sciences in general who are interested in interdisciplinary approaches. It will also be of great value to intellectually curious readers who wish to understand the hidden dimensions of money, beyond its daily use, and to professionals seeking a critical and profound perspective on the financial system and its cultural impact.
What this book contributes
- A deep understanding of money as a cultural and symbolic phenomenon, going beyond the purely economic view.
- Analytical tools from symbolic anthropology and complex systems theory applied to a contemporary subject.
- A multidisciplinary perspective that integrates economics, sociology, and anthropology to explain the nature of value and trust.
- Keys to interpreting the social representations that sustain monetary institutions and their evolution.
Technical specifications
- Author: Castaingts Teillery, Juan
- Publisher: Anthropos Editorial
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: Literary essays, Literature: history and criticism, Anthropology, Social and cultural anthropology, Ethnography, Economics
- Collection: Anthropology
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: June 2017
- Number of pages: 400
- Weight: 478 g
Editorial review
This is a rigorous and original work that offers a stimulating read for those seeking to go beyond conventional economic analysis. Its interdisciplinary approach, which combines symbolic anthropology with complex systems theory, makes it a valuable reference for understanding the social and cultural dimensions of money today. It is, without a doubt, a text that invites reflection and broadens the horizon of understanding regarding a central element of our daily lives.