Jun 19, 2018
It would not occur to most of us to imagine that monetary has a
moral component. Catholic prelates are as silent about matters like
fiat money, central banking and inflation and as are the secular
ethicists. But the production of currency is not just a matter for
the technocrats, and the Catholic tradition once had something to
say on the topic. Economist Guido Hülsmann has combined the
moral-economic analysis of the scholastics, particularly the
14th-century bishop Nicholas Oresme (who wrote that debauching the
currency is worse than either usury or prostitution), with the
insights of the Austrian school of economics in order to formulate
an authentically Christian Ethics of Money Production for
the modern age.
Links:
Guido Hülsmann’s website http://www.guidohulsmann.com/
Jörg Guido Hülsmann, The Ethics of Money Production:
Buy https://amzn.to/2lifyQT
or read for free https://mises.org/library/ethics-money-production
Thomas’s series of articles on Prof. Hülsmann’s book https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=694
Read Nicholas Oresme’s De Moneta for free
https://mises.org/library/de-moneta-nicholas-oresme-and-english-mint-documents
Timestamps:
3:13 Interview with Guido
Hülsmann
Part 1: Money and Banking
3:51 Silence of Catholic social teaching on money production;
using scholastic tradition, esp. Nicole Oresme, as a source
5:38 What is the “Austrian school” of economics and why would
the Catholic mind find it compelling?
10:58 Competing definitions of money: commodity or sign?
14:54 Origin and evolution of banking; from simple money
warehousing to fractional reserve
21:00 Varying origins of fractional reserve banking in
Europe
25:10 Absence of legal and contractual clarity throughout the
history of fractional reserve banking; attempts by states to keep
banks from going bankrupt leading to the creation of central
banks
Part 2: Inflation and Its Consequences
34:53 Three unprecedented modern developments: the abandonment
of precious metals, the imposition of fiat money, constant
inflation
40:19 The first economist was a scholastic: Bishop Oresme on
inflation and the debasement of coinage
48:56 Render to Caesar: does all money belong to the government?
Oresme says governments may not alter previously existing moneys
without the consent of the entire community
50:54 Inflation worse than usury and prostitution according to
Oresme; deceptive practices by governments
54:01 Similar economic consequences of debasement of coinage and
modern inflation: Enrichment of earliest recipients of new money at
the expense of latest recipients
57:54 A uniquely modern recurrence: the business cycle as a
result of fractional reserve banking
1:00:43 Central banks incentivizing commercial banks to
irresponsible behavior leading to the 2008 financial crisis
1:08:26 Cultural consequences of inflation: a debt-based
economy, borrowing and investment prioritized over saving,
materialism and short-term thinking
1:12:45 This week’s excerpts: Aristotle,
Jean-Baptiste Say, Etienne Gilson
