6 h 1 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 1 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
When money will not hold its value, who pays the price?
In A Tract on Monetary Reform, John Maynard Keynes begins with the people caught in changing prices. After the First World War, prices soar in Germany and Austria, then fall sharply in Britain and the United States. He asks who gains, who loses, and what governments should do when money will not hold still.
Keynes follows the problem from household wealth to public finance and central banking. He explains inflation as a hidden tax, questions deflation as a cure, and connects prices with exchange rates. His argument leads to a clear choice: manage money to keep prices steady at home, rather than let the old gold standard set the rules.
What you’ll discover
- People before theory See how changes in money's value shift wealth between social classes.
- The tax you miss Follow Keynes's account of how printing money lets governments collect a hidden tax.
- The cost of deflation Explore why Keynes sees falling prices as harsher medicine than inflation.
- Cash and its value Examine how the way people hold cash matters to the value of money.
- A different policy goal Consider his case for central banks to regulate credit with steady prices as their aim.
Who will love it
Readers who like sharp economic argument with real numbers, and anyone curious how a famous economist turned the chaos of the early 1920s into plain practical advice.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Changing money matters because it falls unevenly
- Inflation robs the saver who trusted fixed money
- Rising prices make profiteers of honest business people
- Wage earners gained while the middle class lost
- Falling prices freeze production, and risk is a hidden cost
- Printing money is a tax, and the public learns to dodge it
- A capital levy is fairer than letting money rot
- Money obeys a few knowable rules at home and abroad
- Choose stable prices over a fixed gold rate
- Let the Bank of England manage money for stable prices
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Una trattazione sulla riforma monetaria
by John Maynard Keynes · 1923
A grocer in Moscow sprints with his roubles to buy cheese again before they lose value on the way.
Medium level2–5 hours to readItaliano
Learn a language with medium classicsSpagnoloFranceseTedescoItalianoGiapponesePortogheseIngleseHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What happens to a country when its money stops meaning what it meant last year? In Moscow, a grocer sells a pound of cheese and runs to the market to buy cheese again before his roubles lose value on the way.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Changing money matters because it falls unevenly
Keynes begins with a simple point. Money matters only for what it can buy. A man who got twice as much money for his work and paid twice as much for his purchases would be entirely unaffected.
So a change in the price level matters only because it hits people unequally. A wage may lag behind the cost of bread, while a merchant's stock gains value overnight. Wealth passes from some people to others, plans fail, and hopes are disappointed.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1923
- Language
- Italiano
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Keynes, John Maynard. A Tract on Monetary Reform. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-tract-on-monetary-reform.
Keynes, J. M. (2026). A tract on monetary reform. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-tract-on-monetary-reform (Original work published 1923)
Keynes, John Maynard. A Tract on Monetary Reform. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-tract-on-monetary-reform.
@book{keynes2026tract,
author = {Keynes, John Maynard},
title = {A Tract on Monetary Reform},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-tract-on-monetary-reform},
note = {First published 1923}
}
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Una trattazione sulla riforma monetaria
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is A Tract on Monetary Reform about?
It examines how changes in the value of money affect savers, business people and workers, how governments tax through inflation, how money and exchange rates work, and what policy should do to keep prices stable.
What does Keynes mean by calling the gold standard a barbarous relic?
He means that central banks already steer credit to keep prices, business and employment steady. Fixing gold at one price per ounce is an old rule that no longer fits those aims.
What is the difference between inflation and deflation in the book?
Inflation means more money to spend than goods to buy, so prices rise and savers lose. Deflation means a shrinking supply of money, so prices fall, business slows and jobs disappear.
The author
John Maynard Keynes
1883–1946 · English economist
John Maynard Keynes was a British economist born in Cambridge in 1883. He lived in Britain and worked at Cambridge University and for the British government. He wrote The Economic Consequences of the Peace in 1919 and A Tract on Monetary Reform in 1923. He died in Sussex in 1946.
More by John Maynard Keynes
Vedi tutti i suoi libriMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
