"The financial crisis of 2008 prompted a renewed critical interest in the moral limits and the sense of justice inherent in the market economy. But while the valuable pursuits of political theorists have enabled them to speak more directly to the economic dimension of our lives, they only rarely touch on the political roots of the central institution of all market economies-money. In The Currency of Politics, political theorist Stefan Eich responds to this blind-spot by offering an intellectual history of money, as the concept was developed over time through the insight of some key political philosophers. Showing the ways in which money is an inherently political institution, Eich examines six key moments of monetary crisis and the political reflection they elicited, from Aristotle and the invention of coinage to the "Great Inflation" of the 1970s and the subsequent disappearance of discussions of money from political theory. What ties the moments together, he argues, is a set of recurring concerns with monetary politics that unfold as a conversation across time, constantly offering revisionist assessments of prior crises. Whether we know it or not, these layers of crisis have come to define the way we look at money, and they continue to reverberate today. In surveying the history Eich responds to the most pressing political questions about money which arise from within the long history of political thought and maps out several possible paths for thinking politically about the governance of money"--.

"Money in the history of political thought, from ancient Greece to the Great Inflation of the 1970sIn the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, critical attention has shifted from the economy to the most fundamental feature of all market economies-money. Yet despite the centrality of political struggles over money, it remains difficult to articulate its democratic possibilities and limits. The Currency of Politics takes readers from ancient Greece to today to provide an intellectual history of money, drawing on the insights of key political philosophers to show how money is not just a medium of exchange but also a central institution of political rule.Money appears to be beyond the reach of democratic politics, but this appearance-like so much about money-is deceptive. Even when the politics of money is impossible to ignore, its proper democratic role can be difficult to discern. Stefan Eich examines six crucial episodes of monetary crisis, recovering the neglected political theories of money in the thought of such figures as Aristotle, John Locke, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. He shows how these layers of crisis have come to define the way we look at money, and argues that informed public debate about money requires a better appreciation of the diverse political struggles over its meaning.Recovering foundational ideas at the intersection of monetary rule and democratic politics, The Currency of Politics explains why only through greater awareness of the historical limits of monetary politics can we begin to articulate more democratic conceptions of money"--.

• Cover
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Preface
• Introduction
• Chapter 1. The Political Institution of Currency: Aristotle and the Coinage of the Political Community
• Chapter 2. The Modern Depoliticization of Money: John Locke and the Great Recoinage of 1696
• Chapter 3. The Monetary Social Contract: Johann Gottlieb Fichte and the Politics of Paper Money
• Chapter 4. Money as Capital: Karl Marx and the Limits of Monetary Politics
• Chapter 5. Managing Modern Money: John Maynard Keynes and Global Monetary Governance
• Chapter 6. Silent Revolution: The Political Theory of Money after Bretton Woods
• Epilogue
• A Note on the Cover and Frontispiece
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Index