Making Capital Democratic - by Robert C Hockett (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The "software" that structures our financial system and, through it, our broader economy is made up of certain basic concepts that guide how we think and hence act. These concepts include money, credit, finance, investment, and - above all - capital. This conceptual software manifests itself in our current "operating system" of institutions and practices. But our concepts and the system itself are radically out of date both as representations of monetary, financial, productive, and distributive reality and thus as realizations of democratically productive potential. Robert Hockett shows that this mismatch has serious consequences and argues that it's time for a complete overhaul of our economic understanding.

The underlying conceptual problem, Hockett contends, is that we miss the extent to which our financial systems are deeply and ineradicably public. Money is an inherent emanation of our basic social contract; capital in turn emerges as almost entirely publicly generated. Our systems of finance and investment must therefore be publicly and democratically determined. Leaving them in the hands of private powers means resigning ourselves to current health and income inequalities, evermore frequent financial crises, and economic stagnation and decline - to say nothing of social and political deterioration across the developed world.

Lucid and passionately argued, Making Capital Democratic is a seamless blend of philosophy and economics that calls for profound intellectual and institutional changes that would befit a democracy that is democratic in more than just name.

The "software" that structures our financial system and, through it, our broader economy is made up of certain basic concepts that guide how we think and hence act. These concepts include money, credit, finance, investment, and - above all - capital. This conceptual software manifests itself in our current "operating system" of institutions and practices. But our concepts and the system itself are radically out of date both as representations of monetary, financial, productive, and distributive reality and thus as realizations of democratically productive potential. Robert Hockett shows that this mismatch has serious consequences and argues that it's time for a complete overhaul of our economic understanding. The underlying conceptual problem, Hockett contends, is that we miss the extent to which our financial systems are deeply and ineradicably public. Money is an inherent emanation of our basic social contract; capital in turn emerges as almost entirely publicly generated. Our systems of finance and investment must therefore be publicly and democratically determined. Leaving them in the hands of private powers means resigning ourselves to current health and income inequalities, evermore frequent financial crises, and economic stagnation and decline - to say nothing of social and political deterioration across the developed world. Lucid and passionately argued, Making Capital Democratic is a seamless blend of philosophy and economics that calls for profound intellectual and institutional changes that would befit a democracy that is democratic in more than just name.

Review Quotes

"A remarkable intellectual achievement. This major work spans numerous fields and will be read across several disciplinary boundaries."
Alan Thomas, University of York "A high-quality work. This book is original in argument and manages to combine several threads of economic discourse, which are currently behaving conflictually towards each other, into an integrated and coherent argument for a properly reformed monetary system."
Steve Keen, author of The New Economics: A Manifesto

"Making Capital Democratic is a fascinating and innovative book by a brilliant professor of finance who argues that capitalism can be made more democratic by making the Fed more democratic, i.e., by making the Fed's loans more accessible to communities and local banks (rather than large financial institutions), with the aim of fostering local productive investment and economic development, with guidance from a democratically determined national development bank."
Fred Moseley, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Mount Holyoke College

"Hockett deftly uses accessible analogies to demystify the public and private elements of capital. He builds the concepts of money, capital, investment, and credit from the ground up, allowing him to highlight their deep ties to the polity. With this public aspect of capital in view, Hockett argues it is time to rethink how capital can be harnessed for public ends. A fascinating argument that weaves together philosophy and economics to challenge accepted thinking."
Cherie Metcalf, Queen's University, Canada

"A remarkable intellectual achievement. This major work spans numerous fields and will be read across several disciplinary boundaries."
Alan Thomas, University of York

"A high-quality work. This book is original in argument and manages to combine several threads of economic discourse, which are currently behaving conflictually towards each other, into an integrated and coherent argument for a properly reformed monetary system."
Steve Keen, author of The New Economics: A Manifesto

"Making Capital Democratic is a fascinating and innovative book by a brilliant professor of finance who argues that capitalism can be made more democratic by making the Fed more democratic, i.e., by making the Fed's loans more accessible to communities and local banks (rather than large financial institutions), with the aim of fostering local productive investment and economic development, with guidance from a democratically determined national development bank."
Fred Moseley, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Mount Holyoke College

"Hockett deftly uses accessible analogies to demystify the public and private elements of capital. He builds the concepts of money, capital, investment, and credit from the ground up, allowing him to highlight their deep ties to the polity. With this public aspect of capital in view, Hockett argues it is time to rethink how capital can be harnessed for public ends. A fascinating argument that weaves together philosophy and economics to challenge accepted thinking."
Cherie Metcalf, Queen's University, Canada

About the Author

Robert C. Hockett is Edward Cornell Professor of Law and Finance at Cornell University; a Visiting Professor of Finance at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business; and Senior Counsel at Westwood Capital, LLC. He is a regular advisor and legislative draftsman for Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Marco Rubio, as well as for Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ro Khanna. Previously, he worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the International Monetary Fund, and clerked for the Chief Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.