TITLE:
Towards a World History of Economic Thought: A China Monetary Perspective
AUTHORS:
Niv Horesh
KEYWORDS:
History of Economic Thought, China, India, Islam, Usury, Prices, Tax, Money
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.10 No.2,
February
18,
2022
ABSTRACT: The history of economic thought was arguably the most Eurocentric and
Modernocentric subfield of economics. Most primers and readers in the English
language used to deal with early modern Europe to the exclusion of other
regions. The purpose of this research note is therefore to tentatively revisit
famous and lesser-known thinkers across Eurasia, by way of encouraging more
inclusive comprehensive accounts of economic thought in pre-modern and early
modern times. The issues covered will be mercantile policy; usury and interest
rates; taxation; and finally and most importantly monetary thought. The conclusions
show that monetary nominalism was pervasive around the world; and that Islamic
thinkers were the least anti-mercantile.