Normative Credit Ontology of Money

Project Stream 5 · Claudius Deppe

Understanding debt at its roots requires the decomposition of what is commonly referred to as “money” into a complex web of legally embedded credit–debt relations — that is, fundamentally social relations rather than a mere technical device.

This project aims to provide a socio-philosophical foundation for the central concept of reflexive debt by analyzing the normative nature of these relations in both their ethical and ontological dimensions. Furthermore, it examines how dominant orthodox theories on money obscure the inherent normativity of credit-debt (money), and how this obscuration contributes to structural financial instability while simultaneously legitimizing unsustainable austerity policies.

The project ultimately seeks to overcome epistemological barriers that compromise the rational core of credit-debt (money) as a social medium essential to the realization of individual and political freedom. In doing so, it underscores the imperative to re-evaluate debt governance — not as a peripheral concern, but as intrinsic to the very constitution of every monetary system.