Totalitarian Money? : The Case against Central Bank Digital Currencies

This book provides a non-technical overview of CBDCs for lay readers. It argues that CBDCs provide no useful benefits that cannot be obtained using other means and entail substantial dangers to financial stability and personal freedoms. CBDCs have also been rejected by the public wherever they have been introduced.

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.