Money Is Rights in Rem: A Note on the Nature of Money

Abstract

This paper argues that the development of money and the legal concept of property has been intertwined. That is, money and rights in rem have tended to mirror each other historically. The fictional concept of rights in rem was arguably created in the image of money in the late Roman Republic, where the concept of dominium or rights in rem was first settled at law and money became a predominant medium for social relations. The paper demonstrates that contemporary banking, including commercial and shadow banking, creates money by mirroring credit in the image of rights in rem.

Keywords: Money, Property, Credit, Rights in Rem, Rights in Personam, Shadow Banking