Totalitarian Money?
The Case against Central Bank Digital Currencies
Will be published approx. on 9. July 2026
Book
Hardback
234 pages
978-1-009-75844-4 (ISBN)
Description
Kevin Dowd's Totalitarian Money? provides a comprehensive critique of proposals to establish CBDCs (central bank digital currencies) around the world. He argues that they are economically inefficient, as they provide no benefits that cannot be obtained by other means. He explains why CBDCs are dangerous to financial stability and personal freedom as they enable digital currency to be weaponised against people to comply with the political or social agendas of those in control. Dowd reveals that, despite being promoted by central banks as the next 'big thing', public demand for CBDCs is negligible and they have been rejected by the public wherever they have been introduced. Evaluating the track record of countries that have introduced CBDCs, Dowd explores the drawbacks of CBDCs and explains why the private sector is better equipped to provide a retail digital currency to the general public.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Laminated cover
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
500 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-009-75844-4 (9781009758444)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
approx. 07/2026
Cambridge University Press
€31.50
Not yet published
Person
Kevin Dowd is professor of finance and economics at Durham University Business School. He is a prominent critic of central banking whose previous books include Competition and Finance (1998), Alchemists of Loss (with Martin Hutchinson, 2010) and The Experience of Free Banking (2nd edition, 2023).
Content
1. The Case against Central Bank Digital Currencies; 2. Background and History of Central Bank Digital Currencies; 3. CBDC Fundamentals; 4. Private Digital Currencies; 5. CBDC Controversies in Different Countries; 6. CBDC Experiences to Date; 7. CBDCs and Macroeconomic Policy; 8. A CBDC Could Disintermediate the Banking System; 9. CBDCs and Financial Inclusion; 10. On the Importance of Financial Privacy; 11. CBDCs as Weaponised Currency; 12. A Reform Agenda for Efficient Payments Media.