Book excerpt argues money and physical reality form two superimposed worlds that economics never fully reconciles, tracing the contradiction through Minsky, Greenspan, and Post Keynesian theory.
Key Takeaways
Buildings have two distinct ontologies: measurable physical properties and invisible monetary qualities (ownership, price, rent flows) that are equally real in practice.
Orthodox economics holds both that money is merely a shorthand for physical activity and that money is essential for coordination – these claims cannot both be true.
The barter-vs-money equivalence taught in intro economics breaks down at the system level: if outcomes were identical, widespread adoption of money would be inexplicable.
Post Keynesian economists, following Hyman Minsky, treat debt and speculation as structurally formative, not epiphenomenal – a direct challenge to the “money doesn’t matter” view.
The early-2000s consensus around central bank omnipotence (Greenspan as “Maestro”) exemplifies how the contradiction was suppressed rather than resolved during the Great Moderation.
