For anyone interested, here is my exposition of chapter 1 of Mises’ Theory of Money and Credit, including a brief comic. Feedback appreciated.
It looks good so far. I like how you point out distinctions between what Mises writes in TMC vs. Socialism and Human Action (both of which, I think, have generally superior accounts). Money can be a medium of exchange for consumer goods even under socialism, though of course the lack of a capital market renders its calculation function null and void. Likewise, money does not cease to become money because some goods are used in barter or some people refuse it.
Thanks Edmund. Just added these two sentences to the intro:
“In that treatise, Mises erected a theory of money of astounding originality that was complete and internally integrated: as well as externally integrated with modern, subjectivist economics in general. With this book, Mises completed the victory of the “marginal revolution” by extending its conquest to the monetary realm. In doing so, Mises finally made economics whole.”
The only thing I have to offer is that if your target audience is broad, you might want to lower the reading level of the language used. Inside baseball, the reading level is very comfortable, but if you want to go outside baseball, then the uninitiated/lay reader might need the information broken into more digestible chunks. I’m unaware of who your target audience is for this work.
For this project the reading level of my target audience is fairly high, and very much “inside baseball”. It’s for enthusiasts of Misesian ideas whose understanding of Mises’ work is flawed or incomplete due to lack of background knowledge, newness to economic reasoning, and lack of a “big picture” view of Mises’ system of ideas as a whole.
Then I think it is very good.
Here’s my guide to chapter 2, including a brand new 30-page Human Action Comic starring Mises, Bohm-Bawerk, and Irving Fisher.
Here’s a brief-but-dense write-up of TMC chapter 3.