Against Money

De: J. W. Mason, Arjun Jayadev

Narrado por: Derek Botten

This is an audiobook version of this book.

A powerful deconstruction of humanity’s most influential invention, from the acclaimed economists J. W. Mason and Arjun Jayadev.

Money is everywhere in our daily lives. It lurks in the swipe of a card at the grocery store, in looming student-loan debts, in the prices of things we want, and in our subconscious navigation of the modern world. Money is an invisible convenience that saves us, as a society, the hassle of bartering for goods and services—a reflection, in our pockets and on our phones, of the hard facts of scarcity and desire. Or is it something more?

In this revelatory book, economists J. W. Mason and Arjun Jayadev explain how and why money is so deeply misunderstood by the world it dominates—as well as the dangerous social implications of this misunderstanding. Against Money tackles the most dearly held “truths” of economics, arguing that the world of money has never been an impartial representation of the world of things. Instead, its existence in different forms—debt, capital, liquidity, and interest—increasingly shapes events in the real world rather than just reflecting them. Sometimes money enables new forms of cooperation; more oftenit facilitates domination. Human existence is not just facilitated by money but also governed by it.

In the tradition of works by Thomas Piketty and David Graeber, Against Money is an erudite, disruptive exposé of the illusions and tyrannies of money. Mason and Jayadev present a radically different way of thinking about money—imagining a hopeful future in which it no longer dictates the possibilities of our collective existence.

©2026 University of Chicago Press (P)2026 University of Chicago Press

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Money is a collective hallucination. Reading Against Money is like suddenly waking up and realizing you've been lying in a tank of fluid with electrodes stuck in your spine." — Daniel Davies, author of Lying for Money

“Against Money is an astounding achievement—a work of economic theory and history that revels in controversy and clarity. Jayadev and Mason have written the best work of its kind in decades.” — Zachary D. Carter, author of The Price of Peace

“Most people have internalized very primitive concepts about the social function of money. Against Money will blow some minds.” — Ryan Cooper, editor of American Prospect