Money, Finance, Debt and Crisis of Values
-Lingnan University Master of Cultural Studies Programme
Lecturer: Dr. Erebus Wong
2014-15 Term 2
Course Introduction
An anecdote reported that Henry Ford once asserted, “It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” It is likely an exaggeration. Nevertheless, endeavor to understand the essence of currency, finance and debt is no doubt the first step toward a better alternative form of civilization, especially in face of ecological devastation and escalating global conflicts.
The debt and financial crisis once plagued the global South since the early 1970s has conversely spread toward advanced countries and economies. A greater crisis is our reckless and almost insane pursuit of economic growth at the expense of eco-systems. What is driving this blind impetus for GDP growth is indeed the imperative expansion of debt-money supply.
This course traces the history of money and the rise of finance as one of the most dominant forces shaping society and humanity. We look beyond mainstream economic viewpoints by expanding cultural perspectives. Even deeper than the financial and debt crises is the crisis of cultural values.
Reflecting on the 5000-year history of debt, David Graeber finds that whenever social relationship is reduced (and distorted) to bared commercial exchange, a form of slavery is usually around the corner. He discovers a historical thread he terms Coinage-War-Slavery Complex. By the same token, when looking into the current crises confronting humanity, we may discover a similar Finance-Military-Debt Complex. In history whenever currency, finance and debt became dominant social forces, large-scale violence was usually a concomitant.
Are we marching toward the Capitalism 3.0 or instead retrogressing to a sort of financial feudalism? Are there alternative currency and credit systems? These questions call forth a profound reflection on some very fundamental cultural values. What is at stake behind these reflections would be concerned with whether we can share with equity and safe-guard the one and only planet Earth with other human beings and species.
Course Contents and Main Themes
A Theory of the Foundation of Cultural Values
Two Paradigms of Civilization
Historical Origin of Money
Theories of Money
The Ascent of Finance and the Rise of Capitalism
History of Debt
The Age of Super Finance: finance and war, financial bubbles
Theory and Practices of Alternative Currency and Finance
Credit, Cultural Values and the Future of Humanity
References
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