World Financial Orders: An Historical International Political Economy (Routledge/RIPE Series in Global Political Economy)

World Financial Orders challenges the predominance of neo-liberalism as a mode of knowledge about contemporary world finance, and claims that it neglects the social and political bases as well as the malign consequences of change. He looks to the field of International Political Economy (IPE) to construct an alternative mode, one that critically restores society and politics. An 'historical' approach to IPE is advanced that accounts for modern world finance since the seventeenth century as a succession of structurally distinct hierarchical social orders. This book will be of interest to those working in the field of IPE and to those scholars, researchers and students from across the social sciences who seek to challenge the common-sense, neo-liberal explanation of contemporary world finance. "In World Financial Orders, Langley challenges the predominance of neo-liberalism as a mode of knowledge about contemporary world finance, and claims that it neglects the social and political bases as well as the malign consequences of change. He looks to the field of International Political Economy (IPE) to construct an alternative mode of knowledge, one that critically restores society and politics. An 'historical' approach to IPF, is advanced that accounts for modern world finance since the seventeenth century as a succession of structurally distinct hierarchical social orders." "Comparative historical inquiry across modern world finance reveals the unique character of the contemporary order. This order combines new forms of credit practices, decentralised and de-territorial spatiality, change in the very nature of financial power, unprecedented multilateral governance arrangements and contradictions that threaten its own future." "This book will be of interest to those working in the field of IPE and to those scholars, researchers and students from across the social sciences who seek to challenge the common-sense, neo-liberal explanation of contemporary world finance."--Jacket. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Series editors' preface......Page 12 Acknowledgements......Page 14 Abbreviations......Page 16 Introduction......Page 18 World finance: towards an Historical International Political Economy......Page 32 An Historical International Political Economy......Page 34 An Historical International Political Economy of world finance......Page 44 Modern world financial orders......Page 56 From Amsterdam to London: the Dutch and British world financial orders......Page 58 From London to New York: the British and American world financial orders......Page 77 The contemporary world financial order......Page 96 From New York to 'global finance'......Page 98 The making of the contemporary world financial order......Page 121 Stability, crises and governance in the contemporary world financial order......Page 142 Conclusion......Page 172 Bibliography......Page 185 Index......Page 205

World Financial Orders challenges the predominance of neo-liberalism as a mode of knowledge about contemporary world finance, and claims that it neglects the social and political bases as well as the malign consequences of change. He looks to the field of International Political Economy (IPE) to construct an alternative mode, one that critically restores society and politics. An 'historical' approach to IPE is advanced that accounts for modern world finance since the seventeenth century as a succession of structurally distinct hierarchical social orders.
This book will be of interest to those working in the field of IPE and to those scholars, researchers and students from across the social sciences who seek to challenge the common-sense, neo-liberal explanation of contemporary world finance.

Any attempt to apprehend contemporary world finance encounters not only significant structural changes that cannot easily be captured, but also the predominance of neo-liberal political economy in framing our knowledge of world finance. This book challenges the predominance of neo-liberalism as a mode of knowledge about contemporary world finance, and claims that it neglects the social and political bases as well as the malign consequences of change