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The Case Against the Fed
written by Murray N. Rothbard
Studio : Ludwig Von Mises Institute
by Ludwig Von Mises Institute
Publisher : Ludwig Von Mises Institute
Released : 2007-09-04
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780945466178
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 33 reviews)
List Price : $9.95
Our Price : $9.84
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Product Description |
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The most powerful case against the American central bank ever written. This work begins with a mini-treatment of money and banking theory, and then plunges right in with the real history of the Federal Reserve System. Rothbard covers the struggle between competing elites and how they converged with the Fed. Rothbard calls for the abolition of the central bank and a restoration of the gold standard. His popular treatment incorporates the best and most up-to-date scholarship on the Fed's origins and effects. |
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Bewildering Case Against the Fed |
Recently I read a book by Ron Paul and in a review I questioned some of his criticisms of the Federal Reserve. It's not that I'm some kind of defender of the Federal Reserve it's just that his alternative (having Congress in charge of monetary policy) seemed horrifying. Some folks politely urged me to do some further research on the subject suggesting this book so I've done my due diligence and read it.
There is a reoccurring theme when I speak to or read material from self described Libertarians. Apparently the Federal Reserve is a very devious organization that illegally counterfeits money. Counterfeiting is one of the most repeated charges I've heard leveled against the Federal Reserve and it never really made sense to me so I looked up the words definition in the American Heritage Dictionary. Counterfeiting is defined as, "To make a copy of, usually with the intent to defraud; forge". Other definitions said basically the same thing. Is U.S. currency a fraud or forgery given the fact that it is printed with the permission of the Federal government? The accusation seems baseless and bizarre. Since this is one of the primary legs of Mr. Rothbard's argument it leads me to question his entire case.
The main crux of the author's argument, if I understand it correctly, is that the Federal Reserve was created by and for the protection of United States banks to allow them to reap profits above and beyond what would naturally be possible. By going off the gold standard and allowing the Federal Reserve to create money out of thin air, inflation is driven up. The author writes, "The gold standard no longer servers as any kind of check upon the Central Bank's expansion of its credit" but I'm not even sure how the gold standard operated as a speed bump. Is it because it's a finite resource?
Much of the rest of the book is nothing more than a history of how the central bank was initially pushed in the United States. The author lists all the players involved and I do mean ALL the players. Page after page lists name after name until I became dizzy. I guess it's all supposed to sound very conspiratorial but it grew tiresome. His point was that the central bank was created at the behest of wealthy bankers. Is this shocking? I'm not sure. Unless I'm mistaken it WAS created to protect the integrity of banks to ensure customer confidence. Considering the book is a mere 151 pages this lengthy section seemed to be completely superfluous filler. This was the section that dragged the book down to two stars for me.
So in the end the author suggests abolishing the Federal Reserve, liquidating its assets and going back on the gold standard. Somehow I feel as if I'm missing some salient point. Hard currency has become rather quaint in this day and age. Well over 90% of my purchases are done without physical cash ever changing hands. It seems that just about anyone can create money out of thin air by purchasing using credit. I will agree that many of the regulating agencies in our country are set up more to lock out competition than to regulate industry but there seems to be no lack of banks. If the authors point was that the FDIC causes banks to engage in risky behavior I'm not sure that that's true either. I really have to question whether the advocates of returning to the gold standard and abolishing the Federal Reserve actually understand the ramifications or if it just feels good to get rid of a powerful institution. Getting rid of institutions seems to be one of the great pleasures of Libertarians with the Federal Reserve joining the IRS and the public school systems as primary targets. Seems like a bad idea to me but what do I know. |
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The case for the FED |
This book gives a simple case for changing the money under the federal reserve system to gold system of money. After reading the history of the creation of the FED, I see clearer the need for fiat money and a system to control it. We should continue the federal reserve system and teach people how it benefits a society when run properly.
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Stopped by the Introduction |
While I have no doubt that the Fed and other central banks can and do create inflation, Rothbard's introduction to money is so simplistic and so misleading that it stopped me cold in my tracks. If his conclusions are based on the foundation laid in the introduction, the whole argument is worthless. Rothbard's argument in the introduction is that only the Fed is permitted to print Federal Reserve Notes (correct) and that these notes are the only money in existence. This last statement is a grave error, Rothbard is confusing money with legal tender. The notes are the only form of legal tender in circulation but there are many other forms of money in circulation as well: bank deposits, mortgage loans and any other form of credit increases the money in circulation -- not the legal tender but money as perceived by markets. If we are to believe "Irrational Exuberance," even stock certificates act as money because they create the "wealth effect." All this is ignored by Rothbard in his introduction to money.
The purpose of Rothbard's introduction is to show that the ordinary citizen cannot create money and therefore cannot create inflation and the logical conclusion he arrives at is that only the Fed can create inflation. This is nonsense. Any society can create money. In jail they use cigarettes as money. Before the Fed was created money existed in many forms including sea shells and animal pelts.
Inflation is the setting to right of the unbalance between the supply of money (too abundant) and the supply of goods and services (too scarce). But the market does not care if that money is a piece of paper printed by the Fed, gold, the wealth effect of stocks or the bubbly prices of real estate.
I must conclude that Rothbard twisted economics into the service of politics. |
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Book Review- The Case Against The Fed |
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As is typical of all books about banking and economics, this book requires a strong interest on the part of the reader or it would not be considered enjoyable reading. For anyone wanting to understand the U.S. banking sytem and the Federal Reserve System this book should be required reading. Murray Rothbard did not have the writing talent of G. Edward Griffin, but he gets his point across in a much shorter book and was no doubt one of the most enlightened economists of the twentieth century. |
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Good read!! |
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The problem of inflation is in fact astounding - how we make the general public understand is a daunting task and how we overcome the issue of inflation is unsurmountable in my belief. The book touches everything related to creation, circulation, history and legislation behind money and central banking -- specifically "The Fed". While I agree with most of the information in the book, the case against fed is not convincing enough, not convincing enough for the general public to raise this issue with their government representatives, or in some manner even comprehend the problem of inflation and reserve banking. Only when this problem is understood by every lay man in simple terms, annihilation of central banking, inflation and reserve banking will be possible. Rothbard's simple solution is highly improbable - a solution to this problem means revolution and it takes a leader (not the puppets you have now) to challenge the system of central banking. Rothbard's solution to return to gold standard raises several questions -- will the American people still enjoy the prosperity that they enjoyed in a fiat currency system? Will the US still be a super power after the fiat currency system is forgone? What if the government needs to inflate money for genuine reasons? I have enjoyed reading the book, while I stand for returning to gold standard, I firmly believe I never see this in my lifetime. Good read!! |
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