Can Cryptocurrencies Become Money? 👛

Econlib Newsletter
November 2021

Dear friends,

‘Tis the season for being thankful, and we’re gearing up for our big feast here in the Midwest today. We at Econlib have a lot to be thankful for… And what we’re most thankful for, is YOU. If you all didn’t keep reading, listening, watching, and sharing, we wouldn’t be here long. So, thank you, very much indeed.

We're also thankful for our parent organization, Liberty Fund Inc., who makes the whole thing possible. We're also stoked to show you one of their newest projects, a redesigned Goodrich Seminar Room ([link removed]) . All of us at Liberty Fund, and in turn all of you, owe a profound debt of gratitude to Pierre F. Goodrich, the extraordinary Indiana lawyer and businessman who started our organization. So take a virtual trip to Wabash College and learn more about his legacy.

As always, we share the newest content and other highlights from across the site below. Let us know your thoughts on the latest, and tell us what else you'd like to see at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . We love to hear from you.

Until next month, stay well, and stay curious.

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NEW Econlib Articles: November 2021
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Can Cryptocurrencies Become Money?
By Nicolás Cachanosky
The recent monetary reform in El Salvador, which mandates the acceptance of Bitcoin as a means of payment, only fuels the debate over the feasibility of cryptocurrencies as money. History shows that new moneys do emerge. History also shows that private money can work as efficiently, if not more efficiently, than state money. Yet cryptocurrencies in general, and Bitcoin in particular, face a few significant challenges to becoming well-established money, that is, a commonly accepted means of exchange. Read More ([link removed]) .

If I were a Market Monetarist



By Arnold Kling



"Monetary theorists write treatises. It’s who they are. It’s what they do. John Maynard Keynes ([link removed]) published A Treatise on Money in 1930. Subsequently, he became a Keynesian, and he wrote a new treatise, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in 1936...

The latest monetary treatise is Scott Sumner’s The Money Illusion. In his book, he attempts to tackle the usual problems of explaining how changes in monetary policy affect prices, interest rates, and employment." Read More ([link removed]) .

Ludwig von Mises' Decisive Blows Against Interventionism

By Walter Block

In our newest Liberty Classic, Walter Block reflects on this slim volume. Writes Block, "There is no small book that can take the place of Ludwig von Mises’ ([link removed]) magisterial book, Human Action ([link removed]) . However, if there were a contest for shorter publications that could substitute for it, his own book, Interventionism, would be high up on my list in this regard. Read More ([link removed]) .

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Sermons from Evolutionary Biologists

By Arnold Kling

Arnold Kling's latest read was like a series of sermons...But from who, and for whom? "Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying do not fit neatly into our contemporary political categories. They decry corporations and capitalism as though they are members of the blue team. But when it comes to cultural issues, especially surrounding male-female relationships and child rearing, they sound more like the red team." Read More ([link removed]) .
Over 800 Episodes of EconTalk


** Arnold Kling on Reforming Government and Expertise
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Economist and author Arnold Kling ([link removed]) talks about improving government regulation with EconTalk host Russ Roberts ([link removed]) . Kling suggests ways to improve the administrative state–the agencies and regulatory bodies that often write the regulations that they enforce. The conversation concludes with Kling's idea for holding public intellectuals accountable for their pronouncements. Explore more ([link removed]) .

After you've listened, why not continue the conversation with our EconTalk Extra, Bring Back Shame and Blame. ([link removed])

More Recent Episodes:
* Paul Bloom on Happiness, Suffering, and the Sweet Spot ([link removed])
* Rowan Jacobsen on Truffle Hound ([link removed])
* Noreena Hertz on the Lonely Century ([link removed])
* Sam Quinones on Meth, Fentanyl, and The Least of Us ([link removed])

The Persistence of Keynes ([link removed])

Keynesian economics ([link removed]) is a theory of total spending in the economy (called aggregate demand) and its effects on output and inflation ([link removed]) . Although the term has been used (and abused) to describe many things over the years, six principal tenets seem central to Keynesianism. The first three describe how the economy works.
1. A Keynesian believes that aggregate demand ([link removed]) is influenced by a host of economic decisions—both public and private—and sometimes behaves erratically.
2. According to Keynesian theory, changes in aggregate demand, whether anticipated or unanticipated, have their greatest short-run effect on real output and employment, not on prices.
3. Keynesians believe that prices, and especially wages, respond slowly to changes in supply and demand, resulting in periodic shortages and surpluses, especially of labor.
4. Keynesians do not think that the typical level of unemployment is ideal—partly because unemployment is subject to the caprice of aggregate demand, and partly because they believe that prices adjust only gradually.
5. Many, but not all, Keynesians advocate activist stabilization policy to reduce the amplitude of the business cycle, which they rank among the most important of all economic problems.
6. Finally, and even less unanimously, some Keynesians are more concerned about combating unemployment ([link removed]) than about conquering inflation.

Want to learn more about Keynes and Keynesianism? Try these links:
* Of Kings, Keynes, and Capitalism ([link removed]) , a book review by Alberto Mingardi
* Gold is Money, In Spite of Mr Keynes ([link removed]) , by Pedro Schwartz
* Nicholas Wapshott on Keynes and Hayek ([link removed]) , an EconTalk podcast
* Benn Steil on the Battle of Bretton Woods ([link removed]) , an EconTalk podcast
* Mises, Keynes, and the Versailles Treaty, ([link removed]) at the Online Library of Liberty
* Keynes as Lucifer, ([link removed]) by Pedro Schwartz
* The Baleful Consequences of Robert Skidelsky's Keynesianism ([link removed]) , by Leonidas Zelmanovitz at Law & Liberty

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