knapp and "chartalism" were referenced by john maynard keynes in the opening pages of his 1930 "treatise on money" and appear to have influenced keynesian ideas on the role of the state in the economy. by 1947, when abba lerner wrote his article "money as a creature of the state", economists had largely abandoned the idea that the value of money was closely linked to gold. lerner argued that responsibility for avoiding inflation and depressions lay with the state because of its ability to create or tax away money.