Skip to content
Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter June 30, 2016

Cultural Consequences of Monetary Interventions

  • Jörg Guido Hülsmann EMAIL logo

Abstract

Hayek and Keynes are usually perceived as antipodes in one of the grand macroeconomic debates of the twentieth century. But they also agreed on some basic issues of monetary theory, most notably on the harmful character of money hoarding and the desirability of a flexible money supply to offset or neutralise changes in the demand for money. In our paper we highlight some of the cultural implications of a permanent expansion of the money supply. We will focus on the specific case of credit expansion (ex nihilo creation of money through credit) which has held centre stage of the monetary evolution of the past two hundred years and, even more specifically, on credit expansion pushed to such an extent that it entails permanent price-inflation.

Resume

Hayek et Keynes sont communément perçus comme étant les antipodes d’un des grands débats macroéconomiques du 20e siècle. Cependant ils partageaient un certain nombre de convictions relatives à la théorie monétaire, telle sur les effets nocifs de la thésaurisation et sur les effets désirables d’une offre de monnaie flexible qui s’adapte à la demande de monnaie. Dans le présent article nous allons souligner quelques-unes des conséquences culturelles qui résultent d’une expansion permanente de l’offre de monnaie. Nous allons nous concentrer sur le cas spécifique de l’expansion du crédit, au centre de l’évolution monétaire des deux derniers siècles, et plus particulièrement encore, sur l’expansion du crédit poussée à un niveau tel qu’il en résulte une inflation-prix permanente.

JEL: B53; E31; E51; N10; Z13

Acknowledgments

The present paper is based on chapter X of Hülsmann (2013), translated by Ruth and Robert Grözinger. The author gratefully acknowledges comments from Pascal Salin, Alain Wolfelsperger, Daniel Pilisi, Bertrand Lemennicier, and Georges Lane.

References

Hayek, F. A. 1979 [1952]. The Counter-Revolution of Science, 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Liberty Press.Search in Google Scholar

Hoppe, H. -H. 2001. Democracy, the God That Failed. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.Search in Google Scholar

Hoppe, H. -H. 2012. Der Wettbewerb Der Gauner. Berlin: Holzinger.Search in Google Scholar

Hülsmann, J. G. 2007. Mises – the Last Knight of Liberalism. Auburn, AL: Mises Institute.Search in Google Scholar

Hülsmann, J. G. 2008. The Ethics of Money Production. Auburn, AL: Mises Institute.Search in Google Scholar

Hülsmann, J. G. 2013. Krise der Inflationskultur. Munich: Finanzbuch-Verlag.Search in Google Scholar

Hülsmann, J. G. 2014. “Fiat Money and the Distribution of Incomes and Wealth.” In The Fed at One Hundred – a Critical View on the Federal Reserve System, edited by D. Howden and J. T. Salerno, 127–38. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.10.1007/978-3-319-06215-0_12Search in Google Scholar

Karsten, F., and K. Beckman. 2012. Wenn die Demokratie zusammenbricht. Munich: Finanzbuch-Verlag.Search in Google Scholar

Knies, C. 1873. Geld Und Credit, vol. 1. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung.Search in Google Scholar

Mises, Lvon. 1953 [1924]. Theory of Money and Credit. New Haven: Yale University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Olson, M. 1982. The Rise and Decline of Nations. New Haven: Yale University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Polleit, T. 2012. “Kollektive Korruption.” Smart Investor (7):26–7.Search in Google Scholar

Polleit, T. 2011. “Fiat Money and Collective Corruption.” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics 14 (4):397–415.Search in Google Scholar

Poulon, F. 2000. La pensée économique de Keynes. Paris: Dunod.Search in Google Scholar

Rothbard, M. N. 1993 [1962]. Man, Economy, and State, 3rd ed. Auburn, AL: Mises Institute.Search in Google Scholar

Séjourné, B. 2009. “Volatilité des marchés boursiers et comportement des épargnants français.” Revue d’économie financière 74:21–230.10.3406/ecofi.2004.5040Search in Google Scholar

White, A. D. 1896. Fiat Money Inflation in France. New York: Appleton Co.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2016-6-30
Published in Print: 2016-7-1

©2016 by De Gruyter

Downloaded on 23.9.2023 from https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jeeh-2016-0010/html
Scroll to top button