# Chartalist money Chartalist money is state backed money. The term comes from the Latin word "charta", meaning a ticket or a token that may be accepted as payment, but which do not have intrinsic value. The Chartalist theory of money defines money as a creation of the government and as having value in exchange because sovereign power requires taxes to be paid on the money they issue. Furthermore, Chartalists understand money originating historically with states' attempts to direct economic activity rather than as a spontaneous solution to “coincidence of wants” or as a means with which to tokenize debt. Paved way for Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://glossary.ecsa.io/chartalist-money.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.