What with the credit crunch, the Scottish Referendum, and economies nose-diving all over Europe, money is in the news. Money is of growing concern and my awareness of current issues and economic discussions is expanding greatly. Despite this, I am quite ignorant on the politics and philosophies surrounding money and I think this is a common feeling found amongst young people.
Terry Pratchett’s book, Making Money, is as engaging, funny and clever as any of his other works; he also uses his extensive imagination to tackle the big question of money. First published in 2007, the novel anticipated the economic crash of 2008 and money stays ever relevant to our consumer society.
Set in Pratchett’s ever expanding Discworld, Making Money follows the second life of the crook Albert Spangler. The ‘angel’ that saves Albert from the noose first christens him Moist van Lipwig and gives him the title of Postmaster General. Albert/Moist then successfully reforms the Post Office of the capital of Discworld, Ankh-Morpork, to a fully functioning, express service. Then Albert/Moist takes on the bank.
The invention of paper money plays a huge part in the novel, just as it plays a huge part in our world today. Pratchett explores, with wit and sarcasm, the meaning of paper money. In the Discworld, a coin’s worth is based on the gold stored at the bottom of the bank’s vault. This coin can “become some apples, a part of a cart, a pair of shoelaces, some hay” pretty much anything; but is that coin still worth the apples, cart pieces and shoelaces if the gold is not there? Is the bank’s ‘promise’ essential to the worth of the coin, or can the coin still be worth some apples without the presence of gold? One of the main focuses of the novel is the worth of gold, and our hero, Albert/Moist, struggles to dissuade the population of Ankh-Morpork that it really isn’t worth anything at all. The same questions can be applied to our currency today: why does a “room full of useless metal” make 65p worth a Mars Bar?
Today, we no longer use the monetary system of gold backing up the value of paper money (the Gold Standard), but the system of fiat money: money back by nothing more than the state’s promise to pay. This practises the concept that Mort tries to explain to the people of Ankh-Morpork. In reality, money isn’t paper notes, gold or any material thing at all, but the credit of someone else. It is the promise of repayment to one another in society in a form that is accepted by all in the community; the only thing that makes our paper credit accepted is the trust bestowed on it by the people between whom it circulates.
Around these profound ideas, Pratchett weaves a story with characters who make his writing come alive: Mr Fusspot, a small mongrel dog, is the chairman of the bank; then there is Adora Bella Dearheart, Moist’s strong willed fiancé; and Anoia, Goddess of things that get stuck in drawers. Moist dodges tyrants, the noose, and the Lavish family whilst trying to become a banker in a world where to make “a mistake is worse than a sin”.
Words by Betsy