Gold Standard

The following reading is chapter 2 of What Has Government Done to Our Money? by Murray Rothbard.

Monetary authorities have come up with numerous clever ways of measuring money. However, they are unable even to define money, much less measure it.

Fiat money is the fuel of the modern Leviathan state. If we wish to have freedom, we must have sound money.

It is no secret that freedom, both socially and economically, are disappearing in the USA and Great Britain. The consequences will be most severe if we do not reverse these patterns.

Once upon a time, the USA had sound, reliable money. Then, a small group of "really intelligent" people decided to "improve" it. We know the rest of the story.

Monetary authorities have come up with numerous clever ways of measuring money. However, they are unable even to define money, much less measure it.

No matter the historical era, governments have excelled at one thing: debasing their own currency. Rome was no exception, as Roman government excesses required inflation—lots of inflation.

While an increase in the supply of gold money would lead to higher consumer prices, such increases in the gold supply do not lead to boom-bust cycles.

Government interference into money creation and production harms the economy in a number of ways, including skewing the organization of division of labor.

In a market economy, gold is sound money. There is no need for monetary authorities when gold rules.