ABSTRACT
The relevance that economic theory attributes to money has been changing through time, but as a generalization it can be said that it has been treated much more as a mere convenience and an element without importance rather than as an element that can really affect the short and long run trend of the economy. The orthodoxy has always treated money as a helpful means of exchange but what really matters in the process of exchange is the trade of one good for another: money is considered only an oil that makes exchange easier. The conception of money, monetary economies and the role that money plays in these economies is inherently linked to the analysis of the historical development of money. Therefore, as money is the perfectly liquid asset and as liquidity means flexibility, it represents absolute flexibility to agents who own it.
