Faculty Spotlight: Rebecca Spang

Rebecca Spang, professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington, discusses her new book “Stuff and Money in the Time of the French Revolution.” Spang is teaching a related course on campus this semester, focusing on the role of money in politics, society, culture, art, and religion.

[@xiaodongwang7753]

I didn’t read the book. A Chinese tabloid, 头条, translated Professor Spang’s article Revolution Is on the Way. I just came here to see who the professor is. The article makes lots of sense to me.

[@earthandstraw]

Petra Maier (below) expresses the common ignorance of money and belief in the myth that is so disastrously prevalent today. Governments in the world today do not create but a very tiny percentage of the money in the world, most is created by private banks when they make loans. It is a legalized privilege that is the fruit of corruption. The problem is we have a system were all money is created and issued as debt by the private banking system. (except the coins) The paper money is printed by Treasury but sold for cost of production to the banks who then get the seigniorage when they issue it. However, ALL the cash in the entire system amounts to only 3% of the money, the rest is money electronically created in accounts. The Fed banks are privately owned and operated. The Fed does not have any government employees. The monied interests have corrupted our government to sanction this system of the private creation of money by fiat as debt. Political corruption occured at the very beginning and the struggle between Hamilton the banker and Jefferson the farmer. We know who won. So we use credit as money. Money is created when a loan is made but only the money for the principle is created, the money for the interest that must be paid on that loan is not. The interest must come from someone else's principle. It is not hard to see then how this concentrates wealth as banks collect the assets used for collateral when loans default it also systematically creates poverty. Instead of this crooked set-up Government should be the sole issuer of US money and it should only be originated to serve the public interest, that is to fulfill the Constitutional mandate as articulated in the first sentence of the Constitution...ensuring domestic tranquility, promoting the general welfare etc. Money is political, it is a social power embodied in law as an unconditional payment system. So money is power which is why it should be a public utility not a private profit system. If you are interested in knowing more about money and how we can make it serve the public interest see www.monetary.org/ There you will find a book that is a compendium of monetary history. You hate government, I hate corruption of government by private wealth.

[@petramaier9153]

As much as I applaud trying to look at history with monetary issues in mind, there are some questions I have regarding the analysis in this book.
How can anyone possibly claim that state issued currency, the creation of which is monopolized by the state, is a form of free market currency? I enjoyed much of the book, but this anylsis is absurd. Also, we have to keep in mind that state regulated prices for goods and services, including severe punisment for anyone who tried to work around them, can hardly be called a move to free markets either.
Massive state intervention in the money supply and the markets created much of the horrors of the French Revolution, and Rebecca Spang tries to give the usual "Oh well, that's why we need the state for this" explanation.
A free market in money would mean something quite different. Also, I don't think state controls on wges and prices are a free market.
Overall, I would rate this book 4/10, and I would rate in lower than that were it not for the fact that I like the general approach about looking at history through a monetary lense.