On Money Economics is called the dismal science because it is. Tedious, complex, burdened with an exotic vocabulary, the study of economics is only for the stouthearted. The only difficulty in understanding money in this way is that its simplicity impairs comprehension. But let's take a shot at it.
Money is whatever people think it is.
This idea, often expressed, is absolutely true, and often misunderstood. In fact, though, it isn't, never has been, and probably never will be. The proof of this is right before our eyes every day of our lives, and therefore virtually invisible. If money were paper, and a dollar of it were a rectangle of that paper about two and a half inches by six, and weighing about a gram, then ten dollars would be ten of those pieces of paper, or a single piece ten times as large. But wait a minute.