Money and Trade Considered, With a Proposal for Supplying the Nation with Money

John Law (Scottish, 1671–1729), Edinburgh: Printed by the heirs and successors of Andrew Anderson, 1705

In this essay, John Law advocates for the ideas that he would later carry out in France. Published anonymously while he was still wanted for murder, Law advised his native Scotland to combat its money shortage by issuing paper currency, the value of which would be backed by land. At a time when a nation’s wealth was defined by its holdings in silver and gold, Law put forth a vision that, once considered heretical, has long since been taken for granted. Money’s true value, he asserted, lay not in any intrinsic worth, but rather in its ability to stimulate trade. This would, in turn, promote affluence-generating cycles of productivity and consumption. His plan rejected, Law left Scotland and apparently never returned.