Money in the history of political thought from ancient Greece to the Great Inflation of the
1970s In 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.
