The Lost Science of Money
© 2002, American Monetary Institute ISBN 1-930748-03-5
Dr. Michael Kumhof, Deputy Division Chief, Modeling Division, Research Department, of the International Monetary Fund (IMF):
“a masterful work”
Dr. Michael Hudson, author, Super Imperialism and Global Fracture:
“Stephen Zarlenga’s Lost Science of Money book provides the needed background for seeing the basic structural issues at work.”
Mr. Hugh Downs, former “Tonight Show” and “20/20” co-host:
“This book looks marvelously helpful and has some stunning historical vistas of the whole concept of media of exchange.”
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By examining the results evident in historical examples in the first 23 chapters, the author arrives “at a discovery of the essential nature of money; a feat not adequately achieved by the various schools of economics over the preceding three centuries. Civilizations rise and fall on this concept of money.”
Chapter 24 then applies that “knowledge to understand what’s needed for U.S. monetary reform, emphasizing the minimal acts to put time on the side of justice”.
See below for more details.
The book is available immediately from the American Monetary Institute. Bookstores or libraries can also order it from Baker & Taylor Distributor. It is a hardback, 756 pages including selected Bibliography and Index, high-quality Smythe sewn library binding with “eternal” (300 year) paper and double-coated jacket, with cover art duplicated on the book boards.
The normal cover price is $89, plus postage, but for a limited time the book is available direct from the publisher, the American Monetary Institute, at the discount price of $60 (plus $8 S&H – total price $68). Click on the PayPal button above or pay by check or credit card using the order form. The U.S. Post Office requires mail going outside the continental U.S. to be by airmail. Delivery to Alaska, Hawaii and Canada must be by airmail – add $19 S&H (total price $79). All other international shipments are an additional $50 (total price $110). Buyers from outside the continental U.S. please select the correct book and S&H price option. Or use the mail-in order form at bottom of this page for purchase by check or credit card. Book and packaging weigh just under 4 pounds. Satisfaction is guaranteed or your payment will be refunded.
From The Lost Science of Money book jacket:
WHAT’S GONE WRONG?
Unheard of wealth concentrates into very few, largely undeserving hands. Americans work harder and produce more than ever but increasingly fall into debt and bankruptcy while corruption rules, and predators plunder society by merely shuffling papers. Less than 1% of the population now owns about 50% of the wealth, and receives 17% of the income! The Lost Science of Money shows how a false concept of money allowed it to happen, and tells how to reverse it.
SECRET POWER UNMASKED
Here are the keys that unlock the mystery of the money power – the hidden force secretly exercised by those holding society’s monetary reins.
The Lost Science of Money exposes the mythology created to protect those who are embezzling from society, under cover of a deceptive ideology of money.
This group has immorally used economic theory as a tool of class war for the past three hundred years, while screaming accusations of “class warfare” against those who question their power!
The author provides the weapons needed to protect self, family, nation, and humanity from the predations of this gang, that has shrouded itself under cover of “econo-speak” for so long.
These ideas are presented accurately, but in “down-to-earth” language, without the confusing economic jargon that has usually served to obfuscate the subject. Historical cases with 119 illustrations help to convey the author’s unique message.
A GENERATION MISLED
The gates protecting America have been left undefended. September 11th demonstrated only one aspect of this problem. Our people have been under monetary attack from within and from abroad for most of our history, and the physical, financial and psychological damage has far exceeded the terrible losses at New York’s Twin Towers.
An entire generation has been led astray into market worship and other forms of religious fundamentalism. A dysfunctional media focuses on the elections and sex habits of politicians while the real outcomes in society are determined behind the scenes by the structure of the nation’s money system.
This problem goes much deeper than accounting and stock fraud, and even beyond the graduate schools of business that have inculcated such criminal behavior. The deeper cause lies hidden in the structurally corrupt core of our monetary and banking system and our schools of economics. It arises from the falsehoods they have spread on the nature of money, allowing their patrons to control the money power, and in turn to dominate our society, deforming humanity in the process.
Those who really want to get to the bottom of the problem will find this book’s message timely and valuable. See the Table of Contents. [below]
The author at 26, and now. Though a bit more seasoned, he keeps a youthful attitude.
The Lost Science of Money:
- Traces the money power through three and a half millennia from barter to the Euro.
- Draws fascinating, previously lost monetary principles from ancient Greece and Rome, from the experience of the Moslems, Venice, the Templars, the Jews, the Bank of Amsterdam and Bank of England, and the Federal Reserve System.
- Shows that the question of usury is far from settled, and that monetary reform is more a matter of morality and law than of economics.
- Demonstrates that a good money system must be based in law, not in commodities.
- Defines the essential elements needed to remove structural injustice from our money system.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephen Zarlenga draws on 35 years of experience in the world of finance, securities, insurance, mutual funds, real estate, and futures trading. He has published 20 books on money, banking, politics and philosophy (including The Anglo American Establishment, by Prof. Carrol Quigley). While in his mid 20s he incorporated the Athenian branch of an English life insurance company, earlier opening several European markets for the parent firm, IOS.
A few years later he built the U.S. distribution network of the then leading American mutual fund concentrating in gold shares. As a member of the New York Futures Exchange (a subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange) he specialized in trading the complex CRB futures index for several years.
Thus the author is more than familiar with both the practical and theoretical sides of our market economy. And yet he calls into question and challenges the basis, and Achilles’ heel, of American Capitalism: the private control and resulting misdirection of the nation’s monetary system.
Stephen Zarlenga holds a degree in Psychology from the University of Chicago (and has done postgraduate work at NYU), where he was in the final graduating class under the revered Hutchins’ curriculum which focused on critical reading and thought. This training, combined with his work experience, and years of research, enabled him to re-formulate the Lost Science of Money.
The author began focused research on the money problem in 1991, eventually drawing on over 800 monetary source books and materials to formulate this thesis. In 1996, he helped establish the American Monetary Institute to further the research. In 1999, Conzett Verlag of Zurich, Switzerland translated and published the work in German. This expanded English version released in 2002, establishes the author as a leading voice in the field of monetary history, theory and reform.
CONTENTS [chapters]
- The Origins Of Money Systems
- Rome’s Bronze Nomisma: Better Than Gold
- A Monetary View Of Rome’s Decline
- Re-Instituting Money In The West
- Crusades End Byzantium’s Monetary Dominance
- Renaissance Struggles For Monetary Supremacy
- The Scholastics – The Moral Economists
- 1500 – History’s Pivot: Power Shifts From The Mediterranean To The North Sea
- The Rise Of Capitalism In Amsterdam
- Transferring Capitalism To England
- Hatching The Bank Of England
- Political Economists: Priesthood Of The Bankers Theology
- The Usury Debate Continues
- U.S. Colonial Moneys
- The Money Power vs. The Constitution
- U.S. Government Money Compared To Private Money
- The Greenbacks: Real American Money
- Nineteenth Century Monetary Crimes – The Great Deflations
- Triumph Of The Bankers – Establishment Of The Federal Reserve
- The Federal Reserve System Wrecks America
- Germany’s 1923 Hyper-Inflation Under a Private Central Bank
- International Monetary Organizations
- The European Monetary Union
- Proposals For U.S. Monetary Reform
Selected Bibliography
OR
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Comments From Some Very Smart People:
From Dr. Michael Kumhof,
Deputy Division Chief, Modeling Division, Research Department of the International Monetary Fund, from page 13 of his IMF Working Paper No. 12/202, The Chicago Plan Revisited , “a masterful work.”
From Hugh Downs,
“You are right that I have a long-standing interest in monetary matters…This book looks marvelously helpful and has some stunning historical vistas of the whole concept of media of exchange.”
– Mr. Hugh Downs, former Tonight Show co-star; decades with ABC News, including co-hosting The 20/20 Show. Presently affiliated with the Hugh Downs School of Broadcasting at Arizona State University.
From Professor Emelio Peruzzi,
“Thank you for the copy of your chapter on Rome’s money, which I read with great pleasure. I have learnt a lot from it. And I am glad you share my approach in perusing Classical texts.”
– Author of Money in Early Rome (Florence, Italy: Olschki Editore, 1985); perhaps the finest book on that subject. .
From Todd Altman,
“The Book That Neither Debt-Money nor Hard-Money Advocates Want You to Read – Stephen Zarlenga’s groundbreaking, exhaustively researched book — The Lost Science of Money — explodes various myths surrounding both the history and nature of money, and proposes what I believe is a long-overdue reform of our monetary system. Zarlenga makes a compelling argument that most of the world’s economic problems are heavily rooted in the inherently corrupt nature of debt-based, privately-controlled money systems. Under these systems, private banks are allowed to extract enormous amounts of wealth from the global and national economies in exchange for the nothing out of which they create the money they loan … The Lost Science of Money is an absolute must-read for all Americans. Why? Because nothing touches our lives more than money, yet very few of us know much about either the history or nature of money — what little we do know being heavily influenced by the myths and half-truths propagated by debt-money and/or hard-money advocates. This book will help change all that.”
– reviewer of books on money (click here to see the whole review)
From Steven Walsh,
“If Zarlenga’s book had been out there in the ’60s and ’70s we would have known what to have done beyond being flower children.”
– Chicago educator, Chicago, Illinois
From G.K. Shaw ,
“Many thanks for sending me a copy of your stimulating book The Lost Science of Money. I have now managed to work through the volume with great interest and I certainly appreciate the wealth of historical research which has gone into its composition. I have learnt a great deal.”
– Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Buckingham, UK
From Charles Walters,
“A full recitation of…what has happened (monetarily) in America can be found in Stephen Zarlenga’s masterpiece, The Lost Science of Money. If the farm organizations … would all invest $50 in Stephen Zarlenga’s Masterpiece, The Lost Science of Money, and a smaller amount in our Unforgiven, a clear public policy might emerge, and the Union that Lincoln saved once before might be saved again.”
– Executive Editor, Acres USA.
From Brian Leslie,
“This book is timely … The naïve view that money is merely a neutral medium-of-exchange is conclusively demolished … The long held belief in the commodity nature of money is also totally demolished and the damaging effects of this belief through history are analyzed in great detail.”
– Green Economy Working Group of England’s Green Party (click here to see the whole review), The Green Party of England.
From Richard C. Cook,
“Stephen Zarlenga’s book entitled The Lost Science of Money, is one of the most important books published in the world in the past 200 years. Someday it will be recognized for the classic that it is… reform along the lines Zarlenga recommends could transform the economy of the world into a system that would benefit everyone, not just the monetary plutocrats who preside over the globalistic cannibalism that runs amok today … Stephen Zarlenga has proven once and for all how wrong their assumptions are, how rotten and ill-conceived the present system really is, and how a few basic reforms could make an enormous difference in the life of the people of our nation and the world.”
– former U.S. Treasury official and author of Challenger Revealed (click here to see the whole review) Washington, DC.
From John Stoner,
“This is an impressive and comprehensive volume detailing the history of money and monetary systems from earliest times up to the present. The book is chronological and deeply interesting … This history paints a new canvas.”
– for Groundswell Newsletter (click here to see the whole review) Beloit, Wisconsin.
From Mark A. Sullivan,
“As global(monopol)ization increases its assault on democratic institutions, The Lost Science of Money, eagerly-awaited, is here at last. Stephen Zarlenga’s magnum opus promises to give us all the abundant treasures unearthed by his many years of digging among the ruins of lost civilizations — perhaps in time to rescue our own … Stephen Zarlenga has broken new ground … He presents his findings in a style that is understandable to the layperson yet based on painstaking research. His conclusions, like Henry George’s, are radical in the best senses of the word: going to the root; on behalf of liberty and community.”
– President, Council of Georgist Organizations, New York City.
From the University of Chicago:
“Examining the 3,000-year history of money, Zarlenga argues that economic theory has been used as a tool of class warfare and that a generation has been led astray into market worship.”
– University of Chicago Alumni Magazine, December, 2003.
From Robert de Fremery,
“I am very impressed with the amount of research you have done, and I’m sure others will be also.”
– lifelong monetary researcher and reformer, formerly with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, author of Rights vs. Privileges (1992); and Money and Freedom (1955) San Francisco, California.
From Francis Peddle,
“Congratulations on publishing The Lost Science of Money … There are illuminations on the nature of the banking system in the U.S., and the rest of the world for that matter, which should shock many a lay person like myself who would then come to the ineluctable conclusion that the usurpation of the money power by private interests has been a primary source of world depredation. Once again kudos on this significant contribution to the universe of discourse on the money power!”
– educator and attorney; Director, Schalkenbach Foundation, Canada.
From Hanno T. Beck,
“That Saturday afternoon session on monetary policy and reform was the first time I felt like I was really understanding the monetary ideas and arguments being presented; you, and your colleagues on the panel, did a nice job of keeping things clear.”
– Banneker Center for Economic Justice Baltimore, Maryland.
From Dr. Lewis Coleman,
“You have written the book for which I was desperately searching … How you have managed to unearth so much hidden financial history is a source of amazement … It reads like a detective novel, and an exciting one at that! It’s wonderful stuff! Reading your book is like drinking nectar. It remains to be seen if it will light the path to reforms that might save the present incarnation of Western Civilization from destruction. That, in my estimation, is your motive. Regardless, the book is excellent. It will become a classic.”
– California.
From Dan Sullivan,
“Monetary reformer Stephen Zarlenga has clearly detailed the processes by which banks control and usurp the natural return to capital, just as landlords control and usurp the natural return to land. Zarlenga cuts through the intrigues of banking by going straight to the principles of an equitable currency system.His ideas give a clear vision of how money should be issued, how land and money issues interlock, and how land reformers and money reformers can work together to free humanity.”
– Director, Center for Local Tax Research. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
From David Hershey,
“Stephen, received your book (although “book” sounds far too common, I can’t seem to find the right words to express your work’s grandeur). Now I see that money has been corrupted through private individuals usurping a public institution for their own benefit. Hats off! First, for your clear and intelligent exposition, and secondly, for your courage to present the truth.”
– Leading Pension Plan Investment Strategist. Chicago, Illinois.
From A Financial Specialist,
“Congratulations on the monumental effort in “The Lost Science of Money,” the completion of which is utterly critical for advancing human understanding. There are many “new age” individuals who raise hope by explaining there is a miraculous raising of the consciousness of the masses going on … but consciousness is advanced only with hard mental work, research, study and perseverance.”
– Idaho.
From Carl Watner,
“This book … (is) Highly provocative and highly recommended.”
– Editor,The Voluntaryist Newsletter Gramling, South Carolina.
From Jacques Boulet,
“A quick ‘read-in’ yesterday night got me hooked quickly … not a book to read in one gulp … but an enormous resource! We will certainly be promoting it; we’re into alternative currencies, community energy exchange networks and such … Congratulations from the underside (or is it the upperside?) of the world!”
– Manager, Borderlands Co-operative, Australia.
From Chuck Metalitz,
“It is interesting to compare this book with Progress and Poverty.”
– Director, Henry George School of Social Science, Chicago.
From George Blackburne III,
“Dr. C. recommended a wonderful book called “The Lost Science of Money” by Stephen Zarlenga. I loved this book. I inhaled it. Zarlenga has written a wonderful summary of the economic history of the Western World … I strongly urge you to read this book.”
–Blackburne & Brown Investor Letter, Indiana.
From Douglas Mudd,
“Congratulations Stephen!”
– Smithsonian Institution, National Numismatic Collection, Washington, DC.
From Dr. Jurg Conzett,
“Many thanks for your great book. It looks wonderful. I brought it to Martin B. … and he just kept it!!!”
– Founder of the Money Museum, and many other important activities, Zurich’s Money Museum.
From James Cumes,
“The Lost Science of Money took a long while to reach me and I have not read all of it yet but, Stephen, it is a great contribution to financial and economic thinking – indeed, one of the greatest contributions I have read in recent times. The people to whom you have been talking seem equally impressed and I hope the re-thinking you have stimulated will continue.”
– Retired Diplomat, active author, thinker, and originator of VOW (Victory Over Want), an Australian Diplomat.
From R.C. Stuart
“Three cheers for Steve Zarlenga’s The Lost Science of Money. He performs an incredibly valuable service by cogently detailing and exploring the writings and the events of one of the most important issues in any society … (He) makes crystal clear that although long neglected, it is absolutely critical that many more people understand the nature of money … (to achieve) a transition to a rational and fair money system, constituted for the public good and general welfare. … He points out reasonable and proven approaches … and specific suggestions. The real problem is the will to act from understanding and the resistance from those benefiting from the current system.”
– Maine.
From Daniel Bollhoefer,
“Well, having actually finished The Lost Science of Money, I will be able to die a little less frustrated. I am reminded of my experience of many years ago, wading through Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, but with this difference: At least with Dostoevsky I didn’t feel compelled to underline every other sentence.”
– Marion, Indiana.
From Torrey Byles,
A “Mini-Review” from Silicon Valley, California
“Incredible book! … Your book is the answer to my prayers … I received a BA in economics from University of California, San Diego … have been wanting to reconstruct the discipline … to make economics more spiritual, moral, and environmentally friendly in orientation. Now, your book comes along and it is rich with the historical perspective and answers to the questions that I am seeking. Thank you for doing this massive research. I am almost short of breath as to how you have managed to gather so much detail and put it into a coherent — albeit at times complicated — understanding of monetary systems. And, to say that your work is only about “monetary systems” is misleading: it really is about exposing human games and schemes that, when insinuated into the population at large, has this terrible emergent property of poverty, war, deprivation, inequality, and injustice. Your book shows that there is a science to money, based on conscious human design, with best results stemming from wide understanding and open agreement by society at large. And what is most exciting in the understanding of money that you have brought forth, is that it appears to resolve some of the most vexing social problems that have faced humanity. A single human innovation — money — and how it is politically established as a means of exchange — can determine, in one human act of design, the quality of life for all people. Amazing! The structural design of money can make spontaneous in individual humans, moral and socially responsible action. Getting the money system right can lead to the alignment of individual and collective action of people.”
– Granada Research, Half Moon Bay, California
From Andre Bruneau, author of A Question of Interest:
“Dear Mr. Zarlenga, I have just finished reading The Lost Science of Money and am overwhelmed. Your knowledge, your purity of thoughts and your humanity are only equaled by your courage. It has been a privilege to read your work and my only regret is that it was still a work in progress at the time my own humble effort on an adjoining theme was published. Many of my errors would have been prevented.”
From Dana Snowman,
Finally, from a County Chair of the Libertarian Party:
“I want to thank you for your very enjoyable/important book and your other work, website, tapes, etc. You have shed much light on this $ubject for me. A learned friend … has been working with me on ideas for a course at the University of _____ using your book, etc. … and I was wondering if you had any ideas on how best to facilitate. Btw, as a rather silent county chair for the Libertarian Party, I applaud your attempt to rattle a few cage$. I would love to hear you speak at our State Convention!”
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I first met Stephen Zarlenga in person in 2011, while participating in the Occupy Movement. He and I became friends and Stephen became my mentor in my monetary education. As an anti-war, social justice and environmental activist, I though that the nuts and bolts of monetary reform belonged to those with PhD after their name. As such I had not bothered to read what I thought would be a tedious, undecipherable economics textbook or attend the American Monetary Institute Annual Conferences on Monetary Reform. After a year or two, Stephen asked me why I had not attended the conferences or read The Lost Science of Money. I told him what I have just told you here. He laughed and assured me that his book was not a dry book on economics and the annual conferences were for everyone, and although PhD economists were certainly welcome, most people in the movement for monetary reform were just normal people from all walks of life, trying to make the world a better place. My comment to Stephen, as I began to dig into The Lost Science of Money was, “Why didn’t you tell me on day one that it is a book on social justice?”