The purpose of this article is to analyze the historical evolution of central banking in order to shed light on the role of central banks in the face of the current financial, ecological and health crises. The originality of our approach is to situate central banking in relation to the successive phases – manufacturing, Keynesian, neoliberal – of capitalism, to the different monetary regimes that have succeeded one another, from the gold standard to the post-Bretton Woods system, as well as in relation to the different energy sources that have accompanied the historical evolution of capitalism. The article is organized in two parts: the first part analyzes and compares the different historical phases of central banking and shows how central banks have constantly adapted to the challenges of the moment (I); the second part examines the ongoing and incomplete adaptation – at the theoretical, operational and institutional levels – of central banking to the ecological and social transition, the main challenge of the current period (II).
JEL Codes: B5, E5, G2, G18, Q5