SHOULD YOU SELL YOUR GOLD? MAYBE NOT...

Gary North:

The debate over inflation versus deflation has been going on in hard money circles since about 1973. The debate has gone on within academic circles for well over a century. The economists are as confused as the general public, but they are confused in a far more sophisticated way. They turn confusion into a science.

I follow the Austrian School of economics on monetary theory. The most important study of the theory of money within the Austrian School camp was published in 1912, The Theory of Money and Credit, written by Ludwig von Mises. You can download it for free here.

More popular and more readable books have been written on this by his disciple, Murray Rothbard. His book, What Has Government Done to Our Money? is the clearest exposition ever written. You can download it here.

I have also written a short book on the topic, Mises on Money. Download it here.

Finally, there is my more detailed book, Honest Money.

Austrian School economists define inflation as follows: "an increase in the money supply." All other schools of thought define inflation as follows: "an increase in our favorite price index."

Austrian School economists define deflation as follows: "a decrease in the money supply." All other schools of thought and define deflation as follows: "a decrease in our favorite price index." Gary North

-flynn