Which should have sovereignty over money: the free market or the state?
World War I destroyed the international gold standard. European governments asserted final sovereignty over money. They had done this in theory a century earlier. They confiscated gold that was in banks in 1914. Franklin Roosevelt made gold illegal in 1933.
By accepting the idea that the free market possesses no legitimate sovereignty over money, men surrendered their freedom.
Gold and silver became money by way of the free market. I gave a speech on this in 2012 at the Mises Institute. It is here. It lasts 18 minutes. You can read a printed version here: chapter 7.
Any time you hear the term "sovereign money," you can be sure the person who uses the phrase is a monetary statist. He or she wants to turn our liberty over to Congress. The big promoter of this idea these days is a lawyer, Ellen Brown. I have refuted her, idea by idea. What she says about money in American history is dead wrong. So is what she says about monetary theory. Read my critique here:
Seven decades before her, Gertrude Coogan was the big promoter. I have written a small book refuting her. Download it here:
They are both Greenbackers. They are part of the far Left in American history: the Populist movement. They have gotten a hearing within the conservative movement because they are anti-Federal Reserve. But Brown publicly switched sides in 2010. She became an enthusiastic cheerleader for Bernanke. She showed her true colors: green. For evidence, click here:
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