In this Acton Lecture Series address, Robert P. Murphy explains how money emerged naturally from voluntary trades, and not from government edicts; describes the operation of the classical gold standard, and how governments, including ours, wrecked it; and provides insight into the problems of government fiat money, pointing out that the danger is not simply runaway price inflation (bad as that is), but also that business owners can’t plan as well for the future. Furthermore, if new money comes in through the credit markets (as is typical), it causes the boom/bust cycle.

Robert P. Murphy is the Senior Economist for the Institute for Energy Research (IER) and a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute. He has a PhD in economics from New York University. Murphy is the author of several books, including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Capitalism (Regnery 2007) and Lessons for the Young Economist (Mises Institute 2010). He runs the blog ‘Free Advice’ at: www.ConsultingByRPM.com.

This lecture took place on November 4, 2014 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.