Philosophies politiques de la monnaie : une comparaison de Hobbes, Locke et Fichte

In this paper, we examine the representations of money by three major political philosophers, namely Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Johann Gottlieb Fichte. These authors had a major impact on the making of Western states, notably through their ways to express the issue of the people’s sovereignty. In their political constructions they granted a critical place to the issue of money. We first recall the various meanings of the signifier “sovereignty” from the 16th century to the late 18th century, as well as of its modellings that have structured the field of modern political philosophy. Thereafter we successively display the status and forms of money in the three models respectively proposed by Hobbes, Locke and Fichte by showing that money—as embedded in politics—assumes a different nature each time. Our conclusion offers a synthesis about what is common and opposite in these three models. We also review some of their legacy.