Winner of the 2023 APSA Foundations of Political Theory Best First Book Prize
A decade after 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 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.
For review copies, please reach out to Chloe Coy at Princeton University Press (chloe_coy@press.princeton.edu).
Translations
Teoria Politica del Denaro
Die Währung der Politik
Eine politische Ideengeschichte des Geldes
Aus dem Englischen von Felix Kurz
Hamburger Edition, Oktober 2023
Chinese and Turkish translations forthcoming in 2024.
Some Reviews, Interviews, and Book Events
Geoff Mann, “What is to be done about money?,” The New Statesman (August 26, 2022).
Felix Martin, “The Currency of Politics — how Aristotle, Marx and Keynes made us think about money,” Financial Times (August 2, 2022).
Adam Tooze, “Chartbook #124 The Currency of Politics: A book to read,” Chartbook (May 28, 2022).
DIE ZEIT, “Warum ist Geld politisch?” 20/2022 (May 12, 2022). Interview with Oliver Weber. [pdf here]
European Law Open, Book Symposium (May 19 and May 23, 2022). [Poster here] [CUP recording of part 1 here]
Dezernat Zukunft, Open House Webinar (June 2, 2022).
Jonathan Levy, “The Adventures of Money,” Project Syndicate (July 2022).
The Currency of Politics: An Interview with Stefan Eich (Part I), JHI Blog (July 2022). Interview with Alec Israeli.