Le metamorfosi del denaro. Dal tesoro alla moneta elettronica

This paper aims at investigating the link between the evolution of money and social change. In order to reach this goal, in the first part of the paper I will discuss the main viewpoints from which money can be observed, and the basic functions it is supposed to perform in every type of social structure. In the second part, I will outline the evolution of money from the perspective of historical sociology, starting from the store of value function, which is commonly considered the least important one. That description will account for both the spread of money throughout the social structure as a whole and its dematerialization. As a final point, I will focus on the current pyramidal structure of the monetary system, both at a national and international level, and its foreseeable developments due to the recent creation of new forms of money.