In this book, Felix Martin argues with the most common view of the origin of money - that it appeared as a means of exchanging some goods for others. Starting from the maxim “Fish know the least about water,” he believes that “leading economists world" suffer from an unacceptable narrow-mindedness and simply "do not see the forest for the trees." Analyzing significant historical material (from Ancient Mesopotamia to the present day, including the experience of Athens, Sparta, medieval England and France and even the Soviet Union), Martin comes to the conclusion that money is primarily a social technology, a kind of regulator of social relations, and their main purpose is to smooth out and eliminate conflicts. Money should help society simultaneously solve two problems: ensure economic development and maintain social stability. Modern capitalism, according to Felix Martin, has proven itself to be a locomotive of development, but has given control of money to banks and technical specialists who are bogged down in their speculative theories and expounding them in a language incomprehensible to society. Abuse of the power of money by financial institutions leads to severe economic crises that are tearing apart modern society. Possessing a broad historical and cultural outlook, the author filled the book with a lot of interesting information without oversaturating it with special terminology. Written in a bright, lively language, it will interest not only financiers, economists, historians and cultural experts, but also the widest readership.