Keystroke Capitalism

Aaron Sahr

ISBN 10: 1839761199 / ISBN 13: 9781839761195

Published by Verso Books, GB, 2022

About this Item

Contemporary capitalism produces more and more money, debt, and inequality. These three trends have a common cause: the privilege of private banks to create money by means of accounting - by the stroke of a key. Why was this privilege not addressed politically for so long - and who benefited from it? At the heart of the answer lies the realization that the power to create money has been hidden by the way we commonly think and talk about capitalism. The book traces the omission of money creation from theories of capitalism and maps its consequences. By expanding the manoeuvring space for the banks to use their privilege, the capitalist countries have financed a transformation of the economy known as financialization. As a result, the real economy and private households became a debt supplier to a monetary system whose returns accumulate at the top. It is not simply "the markets" but money itself that transfers economic benefits from the masses to a minority. Increasing inequality of income and wealth can therefore only be combated if one does not only correct distributive results of markets-redistribution-, but addresses predistribution: the modalities of money creation.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781839761195

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Keystroke Capitalism
• Publisher: Verso Books, GB
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1839761199
• ISBN 13: 9781839761195
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 140 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Why society needs to reclaim the power to create money

At the heart of capitalism lies the ability of private banks to create money at the stroke of a key. Why have we ignored this unique privilege for so long – and at what cost? Aaron Sahr attributes the lack of attention paid to money creation to the core of popular theories of capitalism, which equate economic power with capital ownership. This conceptual framework obscures the real drivers of capitalist dynamics as well as the causes of increasing inequality. 

By exploring the transformation of banking over the last half century, Sahr shows how the creation of money has driven the rise of finance as well as splitting incomes from wealth. As a result, the real economy of ordinary people has become a debt supplier to a monetary system whose returns accumulate at the top. It is not simply the markets but money itself that transfers wealth from the masses to a minority. Increasing financial inequality can therefore only be remedied by addressing predistribution – the modalities of money creation – as well as the distributive effects of the markets. By mapping this hidden regime of ‘keystroke capitalism’, Sahr makes an essential contribution to our understanding of economic inequality and capitalist dynamics.

About the Author

Aaron Sahr is a philosopher turned economic sociologist. He is visiting professor at Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany, and head of the research group “Monetary Sovereignty” at the Hamburg Institute for Social Research. His research interests include the sociology of money, facts and fictions about monetary policy, the history of capitalism, inequality, and social ontology.