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(2011) A social and economic theory of consumption, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
No discussion of the economic conditions for consumption and their distribution in society can avoid dealing with the peculiar thing that lies at the heart of those economic conditions, i.e. money. Money is, of course, itself a commodity that circulates in the market as payment for consumer goods. However, it is not just any commodity but has unique distinctive characteristics. It mediates between production and consumption, or goods and our desires. Money has been given this function because it is necessary to have a common measure of exchange value that is "pure", an "abstraction" that is independent of other commodities (Simmel 1978, 165).
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Full citation:
Ilmonen, K. (2011). The use and meanings of money, in A social and economic theory of consumption, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 82-100.
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