Episode #259 - Matt Dines and the Post-Mortem on America's Message to the G-20

Irwin Unger’s book examines the Greenback movement that emerged after the American Civil War. It explores the political demand for government-issued paper money and opposition to a monetary system dominated by private banking and gold-based conventions. Unger places the movement within broader debates over industrialization, debt, labor, agriculture, and federal power. The book shows how monetary policy became intertwined with social and political conflict during the late nineteenth century. Matt Dines cited it as a useful historical parallel for understanding America’s present monetary and industrial transformation.

In 'The Theory of Money and Credit', Ludwig von Mises examines the origins and functions of money, the relationship between money and prices, and the role of banking and credit in economies. Written in the early 20th century, Mises explores how fractional-reserve banking and fiduciary media can lead to credit-driven booms and malinvestment. The book lays groundwork for the Austrian Business Cycle Theory and critiques interventionist monetary policy. It warns of two potential endgames for fiat systems: economic depression or hyperinflation, depending on policy choices. The work is influential among advocates of sound money and critics of central banking.