Between public and private. Money, central banking and the State: the institutional assemblage of capitalism
by Francesco Raparelli
pp. 40-55 Issue 20 (10, 2) - July-December, 2023 ISSN (online): 2539/2239 ISSN (print): 2389-8232 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14718/SoftPower.2023.10.2.2
Abstract
Currency is a political institution, present on Mediterranean coasts and islands as early as the 6th century BC. From the commercial revolution of the late Middle Ages to the present day, “payment technologies” other than cash have become established: bills of exchange, bank deposits and cheques, credit cards and bitcoins. The public institution, guaranteed by the state, is accompanied by the private institution, money-credit issued by banks, which supports the expansion of the market. To understand the success of capitalism, however, we need to focus on the emergence of the large national banks at the end of the 17th century and the subsequent development of central banks. Indeed, central banks play a decisive function regarding the government of public debt, credit for businesses and financial markets. Through some classics of economic and political thought, from Locke to Marx, from Schumpeter to Keynes, the article critically reflects on the institutional assemblage that has made the fortune of capitalism.