"Until recently, central bank independence was confined to just two major capitalist countries: the USA and Germany. As a result of stagflation and the voguish espousal of neo-liberalism, the institution has been adopted in most OECD and in many other countries. This book questions the principle of central bank autonomy, examining the Bundesbank in historical context and exposing the flaws in both the technical and the political case for the wholesale adoption of the Bundesbank model by other states. Against the background of a theoretical discussion of both the changing nature of many and the relationship between the autonomy principle and authoritarian liberalism, the dangerous myth of 'wise' monetary policy versus 'corrupt' democratic politics is examined. A critique of Bundesbank politics in practice and the emergence of 'casino capitalism' is used to support the case for the re-democratization of governance to meet the challenges facing humankind in the twenty-first century."--BOOK JACKET.