1916 was the year of publication of a book entitled “Sociedad y Felicidad. Un Ensayo de Mecánica Social” (Society and Happiness: An essay on Social Mechanics) written by Germán Bernácer, a professor of Commercial Product Evaluation at the School of Commerce in Alicante. The book, made up of 582 pages, bore a title that was elusive to its nature: a complete treaty on what later on, during the 1940s, would be known as “macroeconomics”.

From that year until 1925 Bernácer made one of the greatest contributions to scientific economics. However, these papers were hardly known by the Spanish scientific community.

In total he wrote over 85 papers, books and articles, which doubtless originated from a single scientific body, like the branches and leaves of a single tree: macroeconomic science.

Lacking a University degree and tuition in economics, he prodigiously created concepts such as the function of consumption, the theory of interest, the financial market, he overthrew Say’s law, he fiercely criticised the gold standard and, especially, the demand for money. These creations were born from genius, organised work and tenacious reflection.

In 1923 he started his correspondence with Professor Robertson in Cambridge. He sent him his theory of money demand and his theory of interest. It is in Cambridge where Keynes worked and knew Robertson.

In 1945 he published “Doctrina Funcional del Dinero” (Functional Doctrine of Money) at the same time as in the United States and Europe Samuelson, Alvin Hansen and Joan Robinson structured Keynes’ General Theory (1936). Bernácer clarified and put in order the monetary circuit and he explained with a clear prose and a better method that those theories from the English economist were actually written by himself and when comparing the formulae he felt that he had been copied. It is a human and understandable feeling. He further mentioned that there were errors in the fundamental identity of macroeconomics and that it was likely -as it actually happened- that those errors would persist.

Harassed by economic difficulties, he worked during the day and studied at nights. But he was lucky to travel in the psychological trail of the 98 generation, which followed a deeply critical attitude towards society. From the economic analysis he censored that parasitic society.

In the Valencian region there are outstanding characters, such as the painter Sorolla and the writers Blasco Ibañez and Azorín. Bernácer had a close friendship with Gabriel Miró, Oscar Esplá and the painter Varela, almost like blood brothers. They created an elite group in Spanish culture.

He died in Alicante in 1965, without being forgotten because he was neither known or acknowledged.