About alternative concepts of money in Russia (to the 160th anniversary of the birth of A.A. Manuylov). Materials for lectures and seminars
Authors: Nazarova I. A. 
Published: October 2021

This article examines the scientific ideas about the substantial value of coins, paper and monetary signs of circulation in the Russian economic theory in the second half of the XIX — early XX centuries. The critical re-evaluation of foreign concepts contributed to a deep study of the concept of value, nature and functional role of banknotes in the national economy. The factors regulating the value of banknotes and the key criteria of the new model of elastic monetary circulation are considered. The concepts of Russian economists (A.N. Miklashevsky, A.A. Manuylov, L.V. Fedorovich, M.I. Tugan-Baranovsky, P.A. Nikolsky, N.I. Sieber, and many others) reveal the laws of pricing that affect the value of money. It is suggested that money is «an integral part of the developed social division of labor». In this context, we study the process of forming a systematic understanding of the relationship between different market segments and the state monetary economy, which revealed the specific role of money as an instrument that unites individual markets.

It is concluded that, first, in the course of a critical analysis of the concepts of money and the development of the principles of reforming the monetary system in the Russian literature, the foundations of a macroeconomic understanding of the market economy were laid. The semantic «content» of the concept of «conjuncture» indicated an increased interest in macroeconomic research. Second, the development of the theory of the value of money and to elucidate their role in economic conditions contributed to the opening of several new, «frontier» of economic topics, including the theory of industrial crises and characteristics of the circulation of banknotes in extreme conditions at the beginning of the XX century.

The fundamental economic concepts of value, price and money are still the «platform» of the most acute theoretical discussions, in which arguments in favor of the interests of traditional market actors, entrepreneurs and the state, are supplemented by the motives of transnational institutions. Knowledge of the theories of the value of money sheds light on the effectiveness of tools for regulating market conditions. The model of monetary circulation as an effective tool for regulating budget deficits and industrial activity during the crisis (with the help of the State Bank`s commercial portfolio) was the experience of the circulation of maternity money in the twentieth century. Familiarity with the positions of leading scientists gives an idea of alternative approaches in the interpretation of value (classical school, Marxism), or value (German historical school, marginalism, nominalism), creates a solid basis for analyzing the features of the domestic monetary system and attempts to reform it at the present time.

A retrospective analysis of the theories of the value of money will help to form a clear understanding of the peculiarities of domestic monetary policy, to find out its role in the development of crises, inflation and «lack of money». The article, addressed to teachers of economic theory and the history of economic studies, graduate students, students, and anyone interested in the theory and practice of monetary circulation, attempts to «reveal» the secrets of the economic analysis of value — one of the key problems of economic science.