The Ascendancy of Finance 1st Edition

"The Ascendancy of Finance" is a "historical-speculative essay" about the relationship between finance and the state in which, ultimately, the financial system has taken over government. The author's thesis "is that modern finance represents a concentration of decision-making power that acts in parallel to national sovereignty by bypassing democratic processes." He traces the co-evolution of states and markets over the last three centuries, during which time finance became a forth estate. Joseph Vogl is a Professor of Literature and Cultural Theory at the Humboldt University in Berlin, which does not explain why he is well-versed in economics and the history of finance. But this work is important, not so much because it points out that we are governed by the private financial interests of others, but because it explains how and why that came to be. The radical aspect of Vogl's theory is that the "notorious opposition between economics and politics" is a "liberal myth". The two co-evolved in the modern era so that "mutually reinforcing dependencies became established."This book is not easy to read, even if you are accustomed to dense academic prose. It was translated from the German by Simon Garnett. I wonder if some terms don't have better equivalents than the abstruse, overloaded words chosen by the translator. Maybe he should have taken more liberty with clarity in mind. Vogl is anything but straightforward; I found myself having to read many sentences more than once. Vogl uses the term "seigniorial power" a lot, for example, without it ever being clearly defined. Seigniorial power is "based on the integration of private actors, trade, and commerce," but Vogl's use of the term is far more broad and less literal than is customary. I'm not sure it was a good choice of words in the first place. The writing style is often an impediment to communication, which is unfortunate, as Vogl has interesting things to say that might be of interest to a broader audience than the academics who will be expected to wade through it. I'm deducting one star for the writing.That said, Vogl's explanation of the co-evolution of finance and the modern state is fascinating. He presents his arguments in six chapters, each addressing a different but related topic. He calls them "zones of indeterminacy", which I think refers to the changing and opaque borders between finance and state. He begins at the end –or the "endgame", as he dramatically puts it: The results of the 2008 financial crisis. The second chapter takes us back to the late 17th century, when the concept and study of political economy began. He examines how the market came to perform the function of law through the works of 18th century theorists Christoph Heinrich Amthor, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Adam Smith. "From the end of the seventeenth century, good government meant economic government." Chapter 3 is dedicated to the concept of "seigniorial power", which Vogl considers to be "the blind spot of canonical political and economic theory", as it arose from the relationship between state treasuries and private finance, the result of growing national debt.The forth chapter examines the result of the private financing of state function: the modern "financial revolution", which first took place in the Netherlands and England. "The Netherlands became the nucleus of the capitalist world-system by systematically arranging these political-economic agencies into a network of capital and finance markets." The formation of the first real national bank, the Bank of England, in 1694, leads to the next chapter, which addresses central banks as a forth estate. Vogl discusses the issues surrounding the creation of the Federal Reserve System in the United States in 1913. He also looks at the German Bundesbank and its 1992 constitutional challenge, the European Central Bank, and, interestingly, the reform of Chile's national bank just before national elections in 1973 in order to free it from the anticipated leftist government and promised social reforms. It's no secret that central banks are undemocratic, but Vogl posits that their power is specifically the result of modern democratic processes –which is obvious when you think about it.In his concluding chapter, Vogl outlines how the "correlations between central banks and market dynamics" are organized. He touches on a wide variety of topics including the definition of money, the impossibility of assessing systemic risk in modern financial systems, the institutions and problems of "global governance", and just how the "restructuring of the economy around the financial sector" has been realized. At this point, the author's political persuasion is obvious: He's leftist. But, until late in chapter 5, the discussion is primarily of history. Vogl does not make any suggestion as to how nations might extract themselves from a system of governance that does not serve the public interest, and, truthfully, sovereigns and national banks often took the actions they did for very good reasons that could scarcely be challenged. But Vogl's assertion that there is "no opposition…between a centralized state and decentralized markets" offers a fresh way to look at the financialization of modern societies, and it begs discussion of who wields power and how they might be held accountable.

This book, attempts to prove that finance, and business and economic concerns in general, are inextricably linked with the governments of the world. Moreover, the author argues that this intermixing has been going on for a long time. The writing style of this book is highly academic and also draws heavily on political economic theory and the theorists who came up with these theories. While the author does explain some of what was said by these theorists, it is probably best to come into this book with some knowledge of political economic theory as the explanations assume some previous knowledge. However, I do feel that I got a lot out of this book even though I personally am not an economist.

A bit dry and difficult to maintain concentration but nevertheless a good book.

If I read him correctly, Vogl sees the rise of permanent public debt as one of the primary reasons why expansion of financial markets has led to what he terms "seigniorial power." He devotes a whole chapter to the term which is too complex to describe as part of a brief review. Priority has shifted to If I read him correctly, Vogl sees the rise of permanent public debt as one of the primary reasons why expansion of financial markets has led to what he terms "seigniorial power." He devotes a whole chapter to the term which is too complex to describe as part of a brief review. Priority has shifted to ensure "the vital interests of creditors in the profitable circulation of national debt."The crux of our dilemma seems to be that economics (of a form that excludes human values other than profit maximization) has taken the dominant place in determining most human interactions. Seigniorial power seems to be about "diffusing corporate structures throughout the social body." Risk is individualized. Pensions, healthcare, education are all tied to debt and market fluctuation. Systematic risk is transferred downwards.About 1,300 corporations dominate 80% of the global economy; 147 (most in the financial sector) control 40% of worldwide profits. Typically, these companies hold a controlling interest in each other. The ascendancy of finance means, those companies increasingly make the rules. The Ascendancy of Finance presents a convincing explanation of a major threat, not only to democracy but to the individual's freedom to live a meaningful existence, instead of as an  economic robot. Like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Vogl offers little in the way of recommendations for how to deal with the monster we have unleashed. Shelly warned against ambition as the Creature morned his creator's death and vanishes onto the ice in an act of self-sacrifice. Our creation is much further along and is unlikely to follow suit.Elon Musk and others have gotten a lot of press about the dangers of out of control artificial intelligence. Vogl's warning of the ascendancy of out of control finance seems more of a likely near-term problem.As I have argued elsewhere in my own writing (The Individual’s Role in Driving Corporate Governance in  The Handbook of Board Governance: A Comprehensive Guide for Public, Private, and Not-for-Profit Board Members , one solution might be individuals demanding, creating, and utilizing democratic mechanisms within the governing structures of large financial corporations to ensure the convergence of public and private interests. Individuals need to step up and participating as full human beings, not rational economic robots, in governing corporations more democratically. That, in turn, could change the dynamics of finance. However, after reading The Ascendancy of Finance, I am unsure as to where hope lies for Joseph Vogl.

An absolutely fabulous book received courtesy of Vine and Polity press that I am in awe of. The thing that impresses the most is also in a tantalising reversal also the thing that disappoints the most: more of this later.Firstly, a little housekeeping. It’s the perfect size as a paperback, a slightly compact A5. I see that it’s printed in the UK and comes in at 165 pages plus notes plus index. The frustrating thing is the margins or rather lack of mirroring to the spine margin. I can see why each page is identical so as to fit in the little headings that are placed in the outer margins. Sadly, this doesn’t work and a better strategy would have been to have unashamed sub-chapters and then gone for proper mirrored margins. This would have made the book easier to read, would also have allowed the reader to marshal one’s thoughts as one progressed through and, most vitally, would have also made the whole thing easier to hold and to manage.The narrative is beautifully translated from the German by someone who obviously has a superlative command of both English and German. The precision and detail that flows through the text is very impressive. Ultimately, this was my problem. When one is dealing with a formal and detailed subject such as the genesis of the world’s financial systems and this is then coupled with use of very formal and technical English prose it becomes a very difficult read. In truth, though I stuck with it through all 165 pages, much of it was above my head and I suspect one would need a specialist knowledge of economics or finance in order to gain a full understanding.It is also true to say that the book didn’t begin for me until about page 60. At this point where Prof Vogl discusses some of the things I knew a little about such as the Dutch financial empire, the use of National Debt to finance, in particular, wars and the coming of the Bank of England , the FED, the ECB and so – only then did I begin to gain a little traction. I have no doubt that those who posses a detailed financial knowledge will not share my frustrations, but I can’t help but feel a little loosening of the technical and formal language would have widened the audience of those who would consider a book like this and also the understanding of those who read it. Despite my somewhat negative stance, many thanks anyway.

SO many people seem to be unaware of the evens behind the financial crash and the need for austerity. This book takes the reader through the whole story, in a clear, concise fashion that is easily understood by a novice, such as myself but would, I am sure, educate the more financially aware too.If Neoliberalism is a mysterious concept then you NEED this book: how can we change things, unless we understand them?

I was slightly disappointed with the overall tone of the book. Whilst the book does contain some good insights into market trends and banking bonuses, I couldnt help feel that the tone of the book is actually an apology and sympathetic for the overall debacle.Very little is discussed about the incorrect rating on the housing bonds, and even less about thebanking insurance SWABs that was created so that banks could engineer even more money out of the housing market as it steadily became a juggernaut that melted down the entire world economy.Disappointing.

I found this difficult to read and follow, However the ideas and insights are valuable and if you can enjoy the academic style, this book is worth your time.There's a lot of information and analysis but it dragged on a bit for me.

There is no two ways about it, this book is a difficult, academic read. It is not for the faint-hearted - and neither is the subject matter. The author knows his subject very well and he gives us the philosophy and history behind the growth and proliferation of the finance sector to date. It is interesting and sobering. It is a shame he was not of a mind to bring it to a formal conclusion - because it is blindingly obvious that the financial sector is running the show and has our western governments firmly in its pocket. And, as he so clearly points out, it has done for some time. It's just coming into more public knowledge now. So this book is very timely - just could do with a non-academic version for the likes of me!