Stateless Money and State Power: Europe as ordoliberal Ordnungsgefüge

Abstract

Since the start of the Euro crisis there has been an abundance of literature that identifies an ordoliberal Europe with the politics of austerity. This literature is confronted by the paradox that the Euro is a stateless currency. Ordoliberalism holds that economic orders are politically constituted and sustained. The article contends that the exploration of ordoliberal principles of economic constitution and Ordnungspolitik uncovers the crucial role of the member states in monetary union. What monetary union integrates is the role of the state in establishing and sustaining a framework for the domestic conduct of economic activity. In detail, in monetary union the democratically constituted member states assume the role of federated executive states of European money, which governs the decentralised relations of competitive adjustment in territorialised labour markets. The European economic order depends on the commitment and capacity of the member states to make it work within their jurisdictions.