Frankfurt More than 30 authors, some of them prominent, more than 500 pages, a wide range of topics from technical questions of cash processing to bitcoins and stablecoins: The Bundesbank has published a huge book to celebrate “20 years of the euro”, as the title says . To be more precise: 20 years of euro cash, the single currency had previously existed as book money for three years.
Publisher Johannes Beermann, who is responsible for cash on the Bundesbank Board of Management, writes in the foreword: “Euro cash has now matured into a tangible symbol of economic integration and stability and, alongside the US dollar, is an important means of payment worldwide.”
The anthology is also primarily about cash. At first glance, this seems backwards given the fact that people live in London, for example, who no longer even know what the local coins and banknotes look like because they never use them; Sweden is another example of a largely cashless society. In fact, many posts go back at least as much to the past as to the “future of our money,” as the subtitle promises.
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On the other hand, some articles deal in great detail with the Digital Central Bank, also known by the abbreviation CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency). With the exception of the Bahamas, this money is still in the conception phase almost everywhere or, for example, in China it is already in the pilot project phase.
However, it is considered a type of electronic cash for which the central bank is directly liable, similar to notes. In this context, a quite detailed article by the Chinese central banker Fan Yifei about CBDC in China is interesting.
In this respect, the focus on cash ranges from the Lydian coins in the sixth century BC to the plans for future central bank money. US economist Barry Eichengreen provides a concise history from the invention of cash to different variants of cryptocurrencies.
Johannes Beermann: 20 years of the euro. On the future of our money (ed.)
Settlers publishing house
Munich 2022
526 pages
32.00 euros
He concludes: “The future of paper money may be uncertain, but the role of the state and the central bank in regulating payment transactions is not.” He thinks of Bitcoin supporters’ dreams of making these institutions obsolete so nothing.
The authors include many personalities from the older generation, such as Otmar Issing, Theo Waigel, Hans Eichel, Hans Jürgen Papier and Peter Sloterdijk. Women are in the minority. The selection of contributions offers a colorful mixture. A number of chapters from countries in all parts of the world present more technical details on the distribution and processing of cash.
Apparently, three trends are widespread: less and less people are paying with cash, which tends to make it uneconomical to use it, and the circulation of banknotes is still increasing because they are used in the respective foreign country or simply used to store their value.
Psychological, philosophical and sociological perspectives on cash are also discussed. The psychologist Julia Pitters, for example, warns: “Since the construct of cash was invented by people and for people, purely economic or technical arguments must not override human needs in this context.”
With reference to the currency reform of 1948 and the “welcome money” for GDR citizens in 1989, she emphasizes the “symbolic character of shared memories” of cash. And she refers to the “aspect of inclusion”. Nobody is excluded from this means of payment because of their status, creditworthiness, language or digital skills. A good point as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are also often touted as a means of financial inclusion.
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As usual, the philosopher Peter Sloterdijk shines above all with his smug formulations. He first promises to present the “inside views of a wallet”, speaks of “human beings as two-legged and two-armed upright walkers” and of “clothing as a continuation of epidermal heat regulation”, in order to get to the topic at some point.
In the end it becomes clear that he is worried about rising government debt and the possible exploitation of Germany by other countries: “You are therefore dealing – especially within the European Union – with countries that are the more solvent with their acute tendency to bankruptcy Force partners to provide assistance in their own interest via the central bank’s concessions.”
On the other hand, a study by the sociologist Viviana A. Zelizer on payment habits during the pandemic comes across as solid, empirically based work. This shows, for example, that the willingness to donate has increased significantly during this time.
Some authors also use the keyword “money” as an opportunity to write about completely different but related topics. Ifo boss Clemens Fuest, for example, advocates a pragmatic approach to government debt in the euro area that is also based on principles.
He does not see the contractually agreed ratios on debt as strict and, above all, not as enforceable rules, as has also been shown in the case of violations by Germany. From his point of view, however, they are important points of discussion for possible political aid for individual countries and thus contribute indirectly to stability via the reactions of the capital markets
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