I’m serious about writing a critique of libertarian financial concepts. (I have already got one criticizing MMT.) However first I’d prefer to have a greater sense of what these concepts truly are. Thus I’d recognize any feedback that you just may need on one of the best locations to discover a abstract of those concepts.
Let’s begin with “abolish the Fed”, an thought I see talked about in numerous settings. In some circumstances, it’s not onerous to think about what folks imply by the time period “abolish”. Thus if folks have been to say abolish FDIC, I consider that I might know precisely what they imply. However abolish the Fed? That might imply certainly one of many alternative issues. The satan is within the particulars, particularly the transition from right here to there.
A lot of the uncertainty pertains to the standing of base cash (particularly foreign money), in addition to debt devices that promise to pay $X {dollars} of base cash at a specified future time period. Does abolish the Fed imply abolish the US greenback? That appears unlikely; how would all of our greenback denominated debt be repaid?
Maybe the proposal is to peg the US greenback to a set charge of gold, after which enable non-public entities to problem banknotes. To me, that appears probably the most possible means of abolishing the Fed. In that case, it might make extra sense to explain the proposal in a optimistic sense—say outline the greenback as X grains of gold—fairly than within the detrimental means (abolish the Fed.)
A libertarian may say they aren’t wedded to the gold normal, and that the market ought to resolve what system works greatest. OK, however then within the meantime what will we do with the entire US foreign money and greenback denominated debt? Am I lacking one thing?
What are another libertarian financial concepts? I’ve seen the next concepts kicked round in numerous locations:
1. Inflation focusing on is a foul thought, as a result of it’s a type of value management.
2. NGDP focusing on is a foul thought, because it’s a kind of central planning.
3. The consequences of financial coverage rely very a lot on who will get the cash first.
4. The Fed has been artificially controlling rates of interest in latest a long time, normally holding them beneath equilibrium.
5. Fed coverage artificially raises asset costs, typically creating asset value bubbles.
6. In a free market, non-public currencies would displace the US greenback.
I’m in a fairly odd place. I view these concepts as being largely or fully flawed. And but I view myself as a libertarian and look at my very own method to financial coverage as being comparatively libertarian.
So please assist me. What libertarian concepts am I overlooking? Which of them did I get flawed? And precisely how is the abolition of the Fed to be carried out?
