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If government manages to establish paper tickets or bank credit as money, as equivalent to gold grams or ounces, then the government, as dominant money-supplier, becomes free to create money costlessly and at will. As a result, this 'inflation' of the money supply destroys the value of the dollar or pound, drives up prices, cripples economic calculation, and hobbles and seriously damages the workings of the market economy.
Murray Rothbard
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The establishment of government-controlled money systems can lead to inflation and economic instability.

Murray Rothbard's quote critiques the role of government in managing currency, particularly emphasizing how the transition to paper currency or bank credit, controlled by the government, can lead to inflation. He argues that when the government can create money without cost, it diminishes the value of existing currency, disrupts economic calculations, and undermines the functionality of the market economy.

Themes

GovernmentMoneyInflationEconomicsCurrency

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a speech about the dangers of government intervention in the economy.

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Quote by Murray Rothbard | QuoteProject