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Provides an economic analysis of current, post-crisis monetary reform proposals, including Bitcoin, sovereign money, regional money and Modern Monetary Theory.
List of contents
1. What makes money legitimate?; 2. Current monetary systems; 3. The political economy of monetary reform; 4. Bitcoin; 5. Regional money; 6. Sovereign money; 7. Modern Monetary Theory; 8. Money and democracy in perspective.
About the author
Beat Weber is an Expert at the European Affairs and International Financial Organizations Division of the Austrian National Bank, and a Ph.D. candidate in political economy at Universität Kassel, Germany. He co-edited and authored The Political Economy of Financial Market Regulation (2006), as well as publishing a number of books and articles in German on the political economy of finance, and now devotes his research to investigating monetary reform and alternative currencies.
Summary
Weber provides an economic analysis of current, post-crash monetary reform proposals, including Bitcoin, sovereign money, regional money and modern monetary theory. The book critically examines these reform concepts, exposing their flaws and fallacies, guiding the reader towards a contemporary understanding of what money is and how it works today.
Additional text
Advance praise: 'This book offers a concise overview of theories on money and money's relation to states, sovereignty, and democratic self-governance. Weber situates the role of money and monetary policy within the history and economic organization of capitalism. He cautions against asking too much of monetary policy and redirects demands for greater input legitimacy to tax and similar classic state policies. Students of modern financial systems will find the book a hugely informative and valuable read, whether or not they will agree with all its conclusions.' Katharina Pistor, Edwin B. Parker Professor of Comparative Law, Columbia Law School
