ABSTRACT

The increasingly influential neochartalist Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) comes with a nation-state-centric framing of politics. The neochartalists argue that many alleged globalisation-related constraints on national economic policy are illusory or seriously overstated. In their view, monetarily sovereign states enjoy substantial autonomy over their fiscal and monetary policy decisions. The neochartalist diagnosis thus seems to undermine cosmopolitan calls for supranational forms of macroeconomic governance. However, this paper argues that if we pay serious attention to a range of subtler obstacles and strategic incentives that apply especially to small currency-issuing states, cosmopolitan aspirations remain well-motivated. Accordingly, the political implications of MMT are reexamined and a case for supranational exercise of monetary sovereignty is made. The paper goes on to demonstrate how the standard state-centric approach to currency privileges can prove counterproductive from the perspective of democratic governance. It is concluded that neochartalism and cosmopolitanism can fruitfully both correct and enrich each other.

摘要

越来越有影响力的新图表主义现代货币理论（MMT）伴随着以民族国家为中心的政治框架。新图表主义者认为，许多所谓的与全球化有关的对国家经济政策的限制是虚幻的或被严重夸大了。在他们看来，货币主权国家对其财政和货币政策决策享有相当大的自主权。因此，新图表主义的诊断似乎削弱了对超国家宏观经济治理形式的世界主义呼声。然而，本文认为，如果我们认真关注一系列特别适用于小型货币发行国的微妙障碍和战略激励措施，那么世界主义的愿望仍然是有动力的。因此，重新审视了现代货币理论的政治影响，并提出了超国家行使货币主权的理由。该论文继续展示了以国家为中心的标准货币特权方法如何从民主治理的角度证明适得其反。得出的结论是，新图表主义和世界主义可以卓有成效地相互纠正和丰富。