The politics of money and credit as a route to ecological sustainability and economic democracy

In recent years the role of money in society has been raised by ecofeminists, greens and ecosocialists. Ecofeminists have pointed to the gendered dimension of money systems which reward male-dominated and ecologically destructive activities, while much of women's work and lives is marginalized or excluded. Ecological economists have criticized money accounting systems for externalizing environmental damage and treating nature as a free good. Although anti-capitalist critics have long explored the role of finance capital, this paper asserts that money and credit have played a stronger role in all economic systems - particularly capitalism - than has been previously acknowledged. As Glyn Davies has argued, "our lack of mastery of money is in large part the cause of widespread relative poverty and mass unemployment." While not supporting the implicit assumption in Davies' statement that controlling money could of itself ameliorate the problems of capitalist economic systems, understanding the role of money and credit could provide a possible route to an ecologically sustainable and just society through a democratized and socialized money system.