Suchergebnisse

A lack of confidence in monetary institutions after the recent financial crash has led to a resurgence of public debate on the topic of monetary reform, reaching a level of political prominence unprecedented since the period after the Great Depression. Whether privatizing money with Bitcoin, regionalizing it with regional currencies, or turning it into a state monopoly with either sovereign money or 'Modern Monetary Theory, the only economic utopians able to draw public attention in our post-crash world seem to be monetary reformers. Weber provides the first proper economic analysis of these modern monetary reform proposals, exposing their flaws and fallacies through critical examination. From academics studying the political economy of finance to economic sociologists studying financial institutions, this book will appeal to scholars and students interested in monetary reform proposals and the viability of alternative currency systems, and more broadly, readers seeking a contemporary understanding of what money is and how it works today

Monetary reform proposals can be characterized by their position taking on two fundamental debates within monetary theory: What is the nature of money (credit or asset)? Who should issue money (the state or private entities)? In opting for a radical departure from the hybrid nature of the current monetary system, reform proposals suffer from a gap between far reaching legitimacy claims and neglected functionality problems in monetary governance.

"Monetary reform proposals can be characterized by their Position taking on two fundamental debates within monetary theory: What is the nature of money (credit or asset)? Who should issue money (the state or private entities)? In opting for a radical departure from the hybrid nature of the current monetary system, reform proposals suffer from a gap between far reaching legitimacy claims and neglected functionality problems in monetary governance." (author's abstract)

Discourses around financial education and literacy in Germany are examined and contextualised within recent theories of financialisation as a social process. Recent campaigns for financial education can be understood as aiming at the establishment of a "Finanzbildungsbürgertum" (financially educated middle class). This concept can contribute to an understanding of financialisation as a process that comprises social differentiation and appeals to aspirations of social distinction.

"Discourses around financial education and literacy in Germany are examined and contextualized within recent theories of financialization as a social process. Recent campaigns for financial education can be understood as aiming at the establishment of a 'Finanzbildungsbürgertum' (financially educated middle class). This concept can contribute to an understanding of financialization as a process that comprises social differentiation and appeals to aspirations of social distinction." (author's abstract)

The recent financial crisis is also a crisis of the individualisation of risk. The latter has contributed to the expansion of the financial sector by increasing household debt, mortgage credit and private pension accounts. Financial innovations, intended to transfer risk from the banking to the household sector, have led to an underestimation of risks accumulated in the financial sector. When the crisis broke out, risk which was thought to have been privatised returned to the financial sector, and later on to the state, Initial reform efforts presume that minor modifications of the rules governing the financial sector would allow a continuation of the current path of development, The future distribution of risk within society and the role of the financial sector in managing it are topics which have not been on the agenda in post crisis debates so far.

The recent financial crisis is also a crisis of the individualization of risk. The latter has contributed to the expansion of the financial sector by increasing household debt, mortgage credit and private pension accounts. Financial innovations, intended to transfer risk from the banking to the household sector, have led to an underestimation of risks accumulated in the financial sector. When the crisis broke out, risk which was thought to have been privatized returned to the financial sector, and later on to the state. Initial reform efforts presume that minor modifications of the rules governing the financial sector would allow a continuation of the current path of development. The future distribution of risk within society and the role of the financial sector in managing it are topics which have not been on the agenda in post crisis debates so far. Adapted from the source document.