We are joined by Christine Desan, Leo Goettlieb professor of law at Harvard Law School to discuss her excellent book, Making Money: Coin, Currency, and the Coming of Capitalism. Desan argues that money is a constitutional project, countering the dubious “commodity” theory common to contemporary economic and legal orthodoxies. Desan develops her constitutional theory of money through rigorous historical examinations of money’s evolution, from medieval Anglo-Saxon communities to early-modern England to the American Revolution and beyond. Link to Desan's book: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Money-Currency-Coming-Capitalism/dp/0198709579Link to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/MoLsuperstructure

Scott and Max are joined by Fadhel Kaboub, associate professor of economics at Denison University and President of the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity: http://www.global-isp.org Fadhel outlines a new critical approach to postcolonial political economy, arguing that re-gaining financial sovereignty is a crucial next step for postcolonial nations hoping to achieve social, economic, and environmental justice. We talk specifically and at length about the CFA franc currency union, a system with violent colonial roots that continues to constrain the economic and political agency of its member states in West and Central Africa.Link to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/MoLsuperstructure

Bad tweets from AP and Howard Schultz inspire discussion of Left Twitter’s engagement with fiscal policy. Maxximilian Seijo (@maxseijo) expands upon the argument made in his video essay, “Inglorious Basterds: Nazi Desire Fully Employed,” which takes a neochartalist lens to Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds (2008). View the video essay here: https://vimeo.com/264766464 Money on the Left Conference program: http://modern-money-humanities.webflow.io/ MMN HD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtEq19YkCJeEvvyXsguo9QALink to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/MoLsuperstructure

Money on the Left is the official podcast of Modern Money Network: Humanities Division (@moneyontheleft). In our first episode, we consider the recent resurgence of full employment politics in the United States from both a political and historical perspective with historian David Stein (@davidpstein). David is currently a fellow at UCLA’s Luskin Center for History and Policy and a lecturer in the departments of History and African American Studies. Check out his recent article in Jacobin: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/05/full-employment-humphrey-hawkins-inflation-jobs-guarantee. Intro music by Hillbilly Motobike: http://hillbillymotobike.bandcamp.com/album/flexiocentrismLink to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/MoLsuperstructure