John Locke and the Bank of England

Description

John Locke was one of the first shareholders of the Bank of England and participated in parliamentary debates surrounding its creation. He had a key role in the monetary reform of 1696. This book examines Locke’s thought in relation to credit, banking regulation, the monetary and financial system, the gold standard and the principles of Natural Right. It also establishes a link between Locke’s economic and financial ideas and his political philosophy. John Locke and the Bank of England will be of interest to advanced students and researchers of central banking, financial history, the history of economic thought and political economy. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Preface Introduction 1 The Financial Revolution Thought Challenge 2 The Methodical Approach for this Work Notes 1 The Problem of Thought Posed By the Creation of the Bank of England 1.1 Background to the Creation of the Bank of England 1.1.1 A Politico-Economic Logic of Creation 1.2 The Bank of England and the Principle of financial Regulation 1.2.1 Principles for the Creation of the Bank of England 1.2.2 The Monetary Reform of 1695/96 1.2.3 The Institutionalisation of the Bank of England 1.3 Locke’s Intellectual Role in the Financial Revolution 1.4 Thought Issues Related to the Construction of the Bank of England 1.4.1 The Conceptualisation of Credit and Its Function 1.4.2 The Spectrum of Money Analysis – Money as an Object 1.4.3 The Two Monetary Aporias of Locke’s Contemporaries 1.5 The Thesis Defended in this Essay 1.5.1 The Plan for this Essay 1.5.2 The Anti-Philosophical Bias of Locke’s Interpretation Concluding Observation: Money and the theory of Property Notes 2 The Theory of Interest and the Natural Right 2.1 The Issue of Understanding the ‘Considerations’ 2.1.1 The Normative Perspective of the ‘Considerations’ 2.1.2 The Philosophical Origins of Locke’s Economic Theory 2.2 Locke’s Normative Meaning of Natural Interest 2.2.1 The Notion of Natural Interest 2.2.2 The ‘Considerations’ Analysis Method 2.2.3 Locke’s Critique of Mercantilism 2.3 Critical Determination of Natural Interest 2.4 Quantitative Determination of Natural Interest 2.4.1 Calculation Method Requirements 2.4.2 Analysis of the Market Phenomenon 2.4.3 Towards Locke’s Financial Analysis: the Calculation of Natural Interest Concluding Observation: Locke’s Economic Theory and the State of Nature 2.5.1 The State of Nature Notes 3 From Savings to Financial Regulation 3.1 The Moral Framework of the ‘Considerations’ 3.1.1 The Methodology for this Chapter 3.2 Savings at the Heart of Growth 3.2.1 Growth Factors – Foreign Trade and Financial Savings 3.2.2 The Debate With Petty and the Political Issue of Savings 3.2.3 Primacy Attributed to Financial Savings and Its Moral Dimension 3.2.4 The Common Thread of the ‘considerations’: the Transformation of Savings 3.3 The Normative Dimension of Financial Analysis 3.4 From the Analysis of Banking Speculation to the Theme of Regulation 3.4.1 The Banking System as a Natural Monopoly 3.4.2 The Asymmetry of Skills and Banking Rationality 3.4.3 The Inefficiency of the Banking System 3.4.4 From the Role of Finance to its Necessary Regulation 3.5 Banking Regulation and the General Interest 3.5.1 The Historical Formulation of the Idea of Banking Regulation 3.5.2 Approaching the Bank of England? Concluding Observation: General Interest and Social Interest in Locke’s Political Thinking Notes 4 Excursus: From the Credit Function to the Institution of Money 4.1 The Three Banking Models and the Creation of the Bank of England 4.2 Towards Monetary Reform 4.3 The Issue of the Concept of Money 4.4 The Problem Raised By Difficulties of Interpretation Notes 5 Money, Pledge and Natural Right 5.1 Locke’s innovative status of metal and of money 5.1.1 The Status of Money 5.2 From Trade Practices to Conventional Pledge 5.2.1 Lowndes’ Theoretical Analysis 5.2.2 Locke’s Response: Starting With Commercial Practices 5.2.3 From Commercial Practices to the Definition of Pledge 5.2.4 The Aporias of Interpreting Pledge 5.2.5 Innovative Uses of Monetary Pledge 5.2.6 Concerning the Property Theory 5.3 Locke and Pufendorf: Money and the Land Capital Market 5.3.1 Pufendorf and the Regulation of the Land Market 5.3.2 Locke’s Criticism of Pufendorf – Store of Value and state of Nature 5.3.3 Political Society and the National Status of Money 5.4 Money as an Institution 5.4.1 Still a Partial Outcome 5.5 Towards the Par Debate 5.5.1 Economic Recession and Criticism of Locke Concluding Observation: the Meaning of the Argument About Money in Theory of Property Notes 6 The Par Value and the Monetary and Financial System 6.1 The Monetary Foundation of the Financial System 6.1.1 The Dimension of Numerary and Monetary Policy 6.1.2 The Core of Locke’s Position 6.1.3 The Two Principles of the ‘Further Considerations’ 6.1.4 The Moral Foundations of the Monetary and Financial System 6.1.5 The Economic Dimension of the Monetary Reform 6.2 Contracts, Hoarding and Locke’s Responsibility 6.2.1 The Monetary Assumptions of the Criticism Against Locke 6.2.2 A Recession Linked to the Scarcity of Money 6.2.3 Locke’s Position On the Risk of Recession 6.2.4 Money Hoarding at the Centre of State Financing 6.2.5 The Economic Significance of Locke’s Standpoint 6.2.6 State Financing and Conflicts of Interest 6.3 Financing of the State and the Issue of Ownership 6.3.1 The Unfeasibility of Marx’s Criticism 6.3.2 The Realignment of State Financing 6.3.3 Towards the Bank of England Institution Notes Conclusion: The First Step Towards Democracy Notes Bibliography Index