Balance of Power : Central Banks and the Fate of Democracies.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Monnet, Eric.

Contributor:

Rendall, Steven.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Banks and banking, Central--Political aspects.

Banks and banking, Central.

Monetary policy.

Welfare state.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (212 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2024.

Summary:

Central banks now stand between societies and collapse, but are they still democratic? Two decades of financial crises have dramatically expanded central banks’ powers. In 2008, and then again in 2020, unelected banking officials found themselves suddenly responsible for the public welfare—not just because it was necessary but based on an idea that their independence from political systems would insulate them from the whims of populism. Now, as international crises continue and the scope of monetary interventions grows in response, these bankers have become increasingly powerful. In Balance of Power, economist and historian Éric Monnet charts the rise of central banks as the nominally independent—but unavoidably political—superpowers of modern societies. This trajectory, Monnet argues, is neither inevitable nor unstoppable. By embracing the political natures of today’s central banks, we can construct systems of accountability for how they interact with states and societies. Monnet shows that this effort will do more than guard against unjust power; it will put the banks to work for greater, more democratic ends. With existential challenges looming and the work of the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank more important than ever, Balance of Power offers a trenchant case for what this century’s central banks can—and must—become.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introducti on Central Banks as Protectors

Chapter One Central Banks, Money, and the Welfare State

Chapter Two Money from Nowhere

Chapter Three More Problems

Chapter Four Central Banks Everywhere

Chapter Five Democratizing the Central Banks Financial

Afterword The Central Bank Belongs to Democracy

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780226825472

0226825477

OCLC:

1420628185