This article suggests that the radical historiography of global monetary standards has failed to provide a class-based interpretation, instead offering a radicalised power politics that seeks to explain their rise and fall as being a by-product of the competitive struggle for hegemony by capitalist states. The author proposes an alternative reading, which locates the contradictory and antagonistic class relation between capital and labour as the central dynamic force accounting for the rise and fall of global monetary standards, from the classical gold standard to the collapse of Bretton Woods.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aglietta, M. (1979) A Theory of Capitalist Regulation (NLB).
2.
Aglietta, M. (1982) ‘World capitalism in the Eighties’ in New Left Review, no. 136.
3.
Altvater, E. (1993) The Future of the Market (Verso).
4.
Arrighi, G. (1983) The Geometry of Imperialism (Verso).
5.
Arrighi, G. (1994) The Long Twentieth Century (Verso).
6.
Arrighi, G. & B. Silver (1999) Chaos and Governance in the Modern World System (University of Minnesota Press).
7.
Bagehot, W. (1915) Lombard Street (Smith, Elder and Co).
8.
Bank for International Settlements (1971, 1973, 1974, 1995, 1997) Annual Reports.
9.
Block, F. (1977) The Origins of International Economic Disorder (University of California Press).
10.
Bloomfield, A. (1947) ‘Foreign exchange rate theory and policy’ in S. Harris (ed.) The New Economics (Alfred A. Knopf).
11.
Bloomfield, A. (1959) Monetary Policy Under the International Gold Standard (Federal Reserve Bank of New York).
12.
Bonefeld, W. (1994) ‘Human practice and perversion: Between autonomy and structure’ in Common Sense, no. 15.
13.
Bonefeld, W. (2000) ‘The spectre of globalization’ in W. Bonefeld & K. Psychopedis (eds.) The Politics of Change (Palgrave).
14.
Bonefeld, W., R. Gunn & K. Psychopedis (1992) ‘Introduction’, in W. Bonefeld, R. Gunn & K. Psychopedis (eds.) Open Marxism, vol. II (Pluto Press).
15.
Bordo, M. & F. Kydland (1996) ‘The gold standard as a commitment mechanism’, in T. Bayoumi, B. Eichengreen & M. Taylor (eds.) Modern Perspectives on the Gold Standard (CUP).
16.
Brecher, J. (1972) Strike! (Straight Arrow Books).
17.
Brenner, R. (1999) ‘Uneven development and the long downturn’ in New Left Review, no. 229.
18.
Brett, E. (1983) International Money and Capitalist Crisis (Heinemann).
19.
Brown, W. (1940) The International Gold Standard Reinterpreted (NBER).
20.
Bukharin, N. (1973) Imperialism and World Economy (Monthly Review Press).
21.
Burke, E. (1999) ‘Reflections on the revolution in France’ in I. Kramnick (ed.) The Portable Edmund Burke (Penguin).
22.
Burnham, P. (1993) ‘Marxism, neorealism and international relations’ in Common Sense, no. 14.
23.
Burnham, P. (1995) ‘Capital, crisis and the international state system’ in W. Bonefeld & J. Holloway (eds.) Global Capital, National State and the Politics of Money (Macmillan).
24.
Calomiris, C. & D. Wheelock (1998) ‘Was the Great Depression a watershed for American monetary policy?’ in M. Bordo, C. Goldin & E. White (eds.) The Defining Moment (University of Chicago Press).
25.
Carchedi, G. (1991) Frontiers of Political Economy (Verso).
26.
Cassel, G. (1932) The Crisis in the World Monetary System (Clarendon Press).
27.
Chossudovsky, M. (1998) The Globalisation of Poverty (Zed Books).
28.
Cox, R. (1983) ‘Gramsci, hegemony and international relations’ in Millennium, vol. 12, no. 2.
29.
Cox, R. (1986) ‘Social forces, states and world orders’ in R. Keohane (ed.) Neorealism and its Critics (Columbia University Press).
30.
Cox, R. (1987) Power, Production and World Order (Columbia University Press).
31.
De Angelis, M. (1997) ‘Class struggle and economics: The case of Keynesianism’ in Research in Political Economy, no. 16.
32.
De Angelis, M. (2000) Keynesianism, Social Conflict and Political Economy (Macmillan).
33.
De Grauwe (1989) International Money (Clarendon Press).
34.
Dufey, G. & I. Giddy (1994) The International Money Market (Prentice Hall).
35.
Eichengreen, B. (1990) ‘Hegemonic stability theories of the international monetary system’ in B. Eichengreen, Elusive Stability (CUP).
36.
Dufey, G. & I. Giddy (1994) The International Money Market (Prentice Hall).
37.
Eichengreen, B. (1992) Golden Fetters (OUP).
38.
Eichengreen, B. & P. Temin (1997) The Gold Standard and the Great Depression (NBER Working Paper, no. 6060).
39.
Evans, T. (1985) ‘Money makes the world go round’ in Capital & Class, no. 24.
40.
Feis, H. (1930) Europe: The World's Banker (Yale University Press).
41.
Fortune (various issues, 1972–1974).
42.
Gallarotti, G. (1995) The Anatomy of an International Monetary Regime (OUP).
43.
Gardner, R. (1980) Sterling-Dollar Diplomacy in Current Perspective (Columbia University Press).
44.
Gill, S. (1986) ‘Hegemony, consensus and triliteralism’ in Review of International Studies, no. 12.
45.
Gowan, P. (1999) The Global Gamble (Verso).
46.
Gregory, T. (1925) The Return to Gold (Ernest Benn).
47.
Gutt, C. (1947) ‘The International Monetary Fund and its functions’ in Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science, vol. XXII, no. 2.
48.
Hansen, A. (1937) ‘The situation of gold today in relation to world currencies’ in American Economic Review, vol. XXVII, no. 1 (supplement).
49.
Harvey, D. (1982) The Limits to Capital (Basil Blackwell).
50.
Hawtrey, R. (1939) The Gold Standard in Theory and Practice (Longmans, Green and Co).
51.
Hayek, F. (1964) Monetary Nationalism and International Stability (Augustus M. Kelley).
52.
Hayek, F. (1990) The Denationalisation of Money (IEA) .
53.
Helleiner, E. (1994) States and the Reemergence of Global Finance (Cornell University Press).
54.
Hicks, J. (1985) ‘Keynes and the world economy’ in F. Vicarelli (ed.) Keynes's Relevance Today (Macmillan).
55.
Hilferding, R. (1981) Finance Capital (Routledge and Kegan Paul).
56.
Holloway, J. (1994) ‘The relevance of Marxism today’ in Common Sense, no. 15.
57.
Innes, D. (1981) ‘Capitalism and gold’ in Capital & Class, no. 14.
58.
Itoh, M. & C. Lapavitsas (1999) Political Economy of Money and Finance (Macmillan).
59.
Jessop, B. (1990) ‘Regulation theories in retrospect and prospect’ in Economy and Society, vol. 19, no. 2.
60.
Keynes, J. (1929) A Tract on Monetary Reform (Macmillan).
61.
Keynes, J. (1930) A Treatise on Money, vol. II (Macmillan).
62.
Keynes, J. (1971) ‘The economic consequences of the peace’, in D. Moggridge (ed.) The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes, vol. II (Macmillan).
63.
Kindleberger, C. (1973) The World In Depression (Allen Lane).
64.
Kisch, C. (1932) ‘Central bank reserves’ in The International Gold Problem (OUP).
65.
Kisch, C. & W. A. Elkin (1928) Central Banks (Macmillan).
66.
Landes, D. (1972) The Unbound Prometheus (CUP).
67.
League of Nations (1931) Second Report of the Gold Delegation of the Financial Committee.
68.
Lebowitz, M. (1992) Beyond ‘Capital’ (Macmillan).
69.
Lenin, V. (1983) Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism (Progress Publishers).
70.
Lindert, P. (1969) Key Currencies and Gold (Princeton Essays in International Finance, no. 24).
71.
Lutz, F. (1943) International Monetary Mechanisms (Princeton Essays in International Finance, no. 1).
72.
Maddison, A. (1984) ‘Origins and impact of the welfare state’ in Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Quarterly Review, no. 148.
73.
Mandel, E. (1978) Late Capitalism (Verso).
74.
Marx, K. (1973a) Grundrisse (Penguin).
75.
Marx, K. (1973b) ‘The class struggles in France’ in K. Marx, Surveys From Exile (Penguin).
76.
Marx, K. (1977) ‘Economic and philosophical manuscripts’ in K. Marx, Early Writings (Penguin).
77.
Marx, K. & F. Engels (1973 [1848]) ‘Manifesto of the Communist Party’ in K. Marx, Political Writings, Volume I: The Revolutions of 1848 (Penguin) p. 70.
78.
McKinnon, R. (1981) ‘The exchange rate and macroeconomic policy: Changing postwar perceptions’ in Journal of Economic Literature, no. XIX.
79.
Mlynarski, F. (1929) Gold and Central Banks (Macmillan).
80.
Modigliani, F. (1944) ‘Liquidity preference and the theory of interest and money’ in Econometrica, vol. 12, no. 1.
81.
Moggridge, D. (1969) The Return to Gold 1925 (CUP).
82.
Morgan-Webb, C. (1935) Ten Years of Currency Revolution (George Allen & Unwin).
83.
Negri, A. (1988) ‘Keynes and the capitalist theory of the state post-1929’ in A. Negri, Revolution Retrieved (Red Notes).
84.
Nurske, R. (1944) International Currency Experience (League of Nations).
85.
Nurske, R. (1945) Conditions of International Monetary Equilibrium (Princeton Essays in International Finance, no. 4).
86.
Nurske, R. (1947) ‘Domestic and international equilibrium’ in S. Harris (ed.) The New Economics (Alfred A. Knopf).
87.
Odell, J. (1982) U.S. International Monetary Policy: Markets, Power and Ideas as Sources of Change (Princeton University Press).
88.
Ohlin, B. (1937) ‘Mechanisms and objectives of exchange control’ in American Economic Review, vol. XXVII, no. 1 (supplement).
89.
Ollman, B. (1978) Alienation (CUP).
90.
Palyi, M. (1972) The Twilight of Gold (Henry Regnery).
91.
Parboni, R. (1981) The Dollar and its Rivals (New Left Books).
92.
Parboni, R. (1986) ‘The dollar weapon from Nixon to Reagan’ in New Left Review, no. 158.
93.
Pilling, G. (1986) The Crisis of Keynesian Economics (Croom Helm).
94.
Radice, H. (1984) ‘The national economy: A Keynesian myth?’ in Capital & Class, no. 22.
95.
Robertson, D. (1943) ‘The post-war monetary plans’ in the Economic Review, vol. III, no. 212.
96.
Rosdolsky, R. (1974) ‘Comments on the method of Marx's capital and its importance for contemporary Marxist scholarship’ in New German Critique, vol. 1, no. 3.
97.
Simmons, B. (1994) Who Adjusts? Domestic Sources of Foreign Economic Policy During the Interwar Years (Princeton University Press).
98.
Skidelsky, R. (2000) John Maynard Keynes: Fighting for Britain (Macmillan).
99.
Strange, S. (1982) ‘Cave! Hic dragones: A critique of regime analysis’ in International Organisation, vol. 36, no. 2.
100.
The editors (1983) ‘International finance and national power’ in Monthly Review, vol. 35, no. 5.
101.
Vicarelli, F. (1984) Keynes: The Instability of Capitalism (University of Pennsylvania Press).
102.
Viner, J. (1943) ‘Two plans for international monetary stabilisation’ in the Yale Review, vol. 33, no. 1.
103.
Wallerstein, I. (1982) ‘Crisis as transition’ in S. Amin, G. Arrighi, A. G. Frank & I. Wallerstein (eds.) Dynamics of Global Crisis (Macmillan).
104.
Walter, A. (1991) World Power and World Money (St. Martin's Press).
105.
Warren, R. (1937) ‘The international movement of capital’ in Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science, vol. XVII, no. 3.
106.
Weber, M. (1947) The Theory of Social and Economic Organization (OUP).
107.
Williams, J. (1932) ‘Monetary stability and the gold standard’ in Q. Wright (ed.) Gold and Monetary Stabilisation (University of Chicago Press).
108.
Williams, J. (1934) ‘The world's monetary dilemma: Internal versus external monetary stability’ in Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science, vol. XVI, no. 1.
109.
Williams, J. (1945) Postwar Monetary Plans and Other Essays (Alfred A. Knopf).
