Mainstream economics traditionally perceives money as a mere afterthought, a technical device which just makes barter less cumbersome. Consequently, money is not seen as being important for the understanding of our modern capitalist economies, except for in the case of a few empirical problems such as the causes of inflation. However, in the wake of the ongoing global financial crisis, the need for an alternative paradigm to mainstream economics has become even more crucial. This book offers an alternative paradigm, in which money is seen as the basis for the understanding of our modern capitalist economies. It puts forward the very latest in monetary analysis, including a new critical assessment of the neoclassical theory of trading process, recent developments in monetary analysis in virtue of the theories based upon the concept of monetary circuit, and consequences of monetary analysis, including the teaching of economics, the use of the equilibrium concept, and financial regulation. The book should also be understood as a part of a global intellectual movement for re-defining what should be considered as a sound economic policy making, with a special focus on banking, financial as well as monetary systems, both at national and international levels.