ABSTRACT
In a modern community each person with resources at his disposal needs some means by which he can employ these resources in order to obtain goods from other parties, to pay his dues to the State and to meet more uncertain demands to which he may be exposed. The resources at his disposal are not usually in a form in which they can effectively be employed for these purposes; a steel manufacturer cannot readily pay his rates with steel billets or a workman buy bread with personal services. Each therefore will find it convenient to hold a part of his resources in the form of a stock of something which, being generally acceptable and easily transferable, serves as general purchasing power and may be readily passed from hand to hand as a means of making payments.
