Tag Archives: globalization
Are the chances of real reform improving?
In The Money Trap, I argue that our problems result from the way in which we have applied a particular concept of money – the state theory of money. This dominated government policy in the 20th century. As Keynes said, all modern money is state money – it is seen as a creature of…
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Globalization: a warning from Brexit
“Yesterday’s vote speaks to the ongoing changes and challenges that are raised by globalization,” President Obama said yesterday in his first comment on the UK referendum. He is right. The “Out” vote should be viewed as part of the geo-political fallout of the financial crisis and the failure of governments and bodies such as…
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Brexit shows need for new rules on money
The vote for Brexit is about much more than the UK and Europe. It shows that new rules to guide the process of globalization are needed. The policies followed since the financial crisis have two major errors. First there is a failure to diagnose the true causes of the crisis. Second, governments have failed to…
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Status quo or needed reforms?
Interests barring change Powerful interests benefit from the existence of the money trap. These interests include the state and the monied elite. They benefit, at least in the short to medium term, from official manipulation of money under the present (IT plus CBI) regime – the state from cheap finance, the monied elite from the…
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Stop activist monetary policies now
Central banks confront the kind of scenario outlined in The Money Trap. In the book, I anticipated a world of generalised deflation, with zero nominal rates on risk-free assets. At the time of publication, in 2012, this seemed unlikely, to say the least. But it is materialising. The challenge now is to seize the…
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‘The Money Trap’ now
The book argued that the crisis was the joint product of inflation targeting, irresponsible banking and a weak international monetary system. The book tried to show how these were inter-related: First, inflation targeting, which had been a valuable tool in combatting 1970s inflation, had by the 2000s outlived its usefulness as a guide and discipline for…
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Now for the next leg of the “financial crisis”
In effect, this is the money trap in operation – again. Central banks are in a quandary. Unless they return to “normal” levels of interest rates quite soon, the current model of capitalism, which depends on market-determined long-term rates, cannot function. If they do, however, raise interest rates any time soon, with debt leverage still…
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Failure to grasp the implications of global finance
It could go either way – towards “sauve qui peut” nationalism, withdrawal from international cooperation, a turning away from globalisation; or towards a remaking of the international system and regulatory apparatus in an effort to harness the benefits of globalisation for citizens. It could depend on chance events. The downing of a…
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The importance of getting money right
The experience people have of the world, their life chances, what they learn, how they live, where they live, indeed their entire social and personal lives are shaped by monetary relationships, the monetary economy and thus to the world monetary system to an extent completely unprecedented in history. This means getting money wrong will have…
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2. For and against reform
What are the forces favouring reform – and those obstructing it? Natural development: There is a natural tendency for a dominant currency to emerge as the de facto global currency. The US dollar has served that purpose and inertia keeps it in the leading place. But It is in the interests of the US…
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