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What Has Government Done to Our Money?

by Murray N. Rothbard

A book that's both brilliant in its analysis and easy to understand by all, What Has Government Done to Our Money is a must read for anyone concerned about the future of their family's finances, and the future of our country too.

It discusses how money was first developed, the rise of fractional-reserve banking, and how governments meddle with the monetary system for financial gain. This book will teach you more about history, government, economics, legal tender, money, and the monetary breakdown of the West.

Monetary policy is—aside from war—the primary tool of state aggrandizement. It ensures the growth of government, finances deficits, rewards special interests, and fixes elections. Without it, the federal leviathan would collapse, and we could return to the republic of the Founding Fathers.

Our monetary system is not only politically abusive, it also causes inflation and the business cycle. What is to be done?" - Lew Rockwell

What Is Money?

by Gary North

This question divides economists even more than it divides voters. Voters do not think much about this question. Economists think about it throughout their careers. They do not agree with each other regarding the answer.

The problem is, about half of American economists who specialize in monetary theory and banking policy are either on the payroll of the Federal Reserve System or sell their services to the FED on a piece-rate basis.

Most of the others are trying to get in on the deal. Through the FED, economists set policy for American banking, and, through banking, just about everything else.

The economists are not agreed. Federal Reserve policy is therefore not consistent. It is mostly a system of trial and error – these days, very large errors.

In the area of monetary policy more than any other area of modern life, the self-certified, self-policed, and self-confident experts are making it up as they go along. Then the rest of us have to go along.

If you stick with me through this series of articles on monetary theory and policy, you will have a much better idea about where modern society has gone wrong. You will also have a better idea of how to protect yourself against the inevitable consequences, all of which are negative, of the government's violations of sound money principles.

It boils down to this question: If you don't know what money is, how will you obtain more of it? This is another way of saying that if you don't understand the modern violations of monetary theory, you will not understand the extent to which you are vulnerable to bad policies which are going to produce disastrous consequences, just as they have in the past.

What is money? These three words introduce one of the most baffling areas of economic thought. I can think of no other area of economics in which there is greater confusion, leading to greater economic disruptions, than this one.

Part 1: What Is Money?

Part 2: Precious Metal Coinage

Part 3: Schizophrenic Economists

Part 4: Bait and Switch

Part 5: Fractional Reserve Banking

Part 6: What Makes Money Different?

Part 7: Gresham's Law

Part 8: Why Gold Has No Intrinsic Value

Part 9: Monetary Reform

Part 10: When Money Dies

Part 11: The Great Default

Part 12: Why Central Banking Persists

Part 13: Exported Inflation

Part 14: Money and Uncertainty

Part 15: Hoarding, Old and New

Part 16: Inflation and the Savior State