Saving the Market from Capitalism: Ideas for an Alternative Finance

174 Pages·2014·1.5 MB·English

by  Massimo Amato

Saving the Market from Capitalism

Saving the Market
from Capitalism
Ideas for an Alternative Finance
Massimo Amato and
Luca Fantacci
Translated by Graham Sells
polity
This volume was originally published in Italy by Donzelli Editore under the
title Come salvare il mercato dal capitalismo © Donzelli Editore, 2012
This English edition © Polity Press, 2014
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ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-7256-4(pb)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-7255-7
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Contents
Acknowledgements vi
Introduction 1
1 Why Can We Find No Exit from the Crisis? 14
2 The Global Crisis and the Need to Reform the
International Monetary and Financial System 46
3 The European Crisis and the Need for a New
European Payments Union 96
4 Local Currencies and Local Finance 118
Notes 145
Index 152
Acknowledgements
When working on the ideas that constitute the substance of
this book, we enjoyed the benefit of exchanging views with
many people to whom we owe thanks.
To begin with, our students, and in particular those who
attended with growing involvement, enthusiasm and critical
sense the last years of the course in ‘History, Institutions
and Crisis of the Global Financial System’ at the Bocconi
University. We must also thank the people who took part in
conferences and workshops which we had occasion to attend:
it always makes quite an impression to see people of many
and varied walks of life who are now compelled willy-nilly
to try to get to grips with financial issues, and who are
often able to raise questions that are as relevant as they are
plain and direct. And again, thanks to Jacopo Tondelli and
Jacopo Barigazzi, who dedicated space to our contributions
in Linkiesta, and to their many readers, always ready with
numerous comments: some of the sections assembled here
had originally been published in that journal in preliminary
versions subsequently modified and completed in the light of
the comments. Our gratitude also goes to: Luciano Lanza,
who allowed us to republish here an article that previously
appeared in Libertaria; to Valerio Deambrogio, Lucio Gobbi,
Andrea Papetti and Marco Bianchini, with whom we have
Acknowledgements vii
exchanged views continuously over the last few months; to
Luca Larcher, who read the entire manuscript in record time
without sparing critical observations; to Jean-Luc Souchet,
a leading mutualist and inexhaustible source of advice; to
Philippe Mérien and Sandrine Mansour, ever ready to take
opportunities for debate and discussion on local currency
and, finally, to Abla Bella Banassouh for strong, discreet
support.
The errors and oversimplifications that have doubtless
found their way into the text are, however, due solely to our
stubbornness.
M. A. and L. F.