The theory of money and credit
translated from the German by H.E. Batson.
by Ludwig von Mises · first published 1934
60% recommend40% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Offers a thorough treatment of money and money substitutes, with a clear taxonomy of money and credit. It provides an academic grounding in monetary theory for those moving beyond lighter introductions.
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I love that book. Another good, "popular" Austrian-school book is What Has Government Done to Our Money? by Murray Rothbard. The Theory of Money and Credit by Mises is on same subject but it's more comprehensive, the tone is more academic and is considerably harder. Both are available online. http://mises.org/money.asp http://mises.org/books/Theory_Money_Credit/Contents.aspx
on “Ask HN: Best book(s) to learn about the basics of economics?” ↗Theory of money and credit by ludwig von mises: http://mises.org/books/Theory_Money_Credit/Contents.aspx (free HTML or pdf)
on “Krugman on BitCoin” ↗I gave you [1]. I'll generously give you also: The Theory of Money and Credit, by Ludwig von Mises [2] [2] http://www.amazon.com/dp/1442175958
on “Why are interest rates so low?” ↗…money. Talking about "money" by itself is often not specific or helpful enough for the subject at hand. Mises does an excellent job of defining a taxonomy for money and money substitutes in his book The Theory of Money and Credit.
on “Banks create money, but it's less impressive than it sounds” ↗Mises had a few things to say on the subject of what makes money “good” or “bad”. You might learn something if you read The Theory of Money and Credit.
on “Naked shorting: The curious incident of the shares that didn't exist (2005)” ↗Not completely naive, I hope: "Human Action" and "The Theory of Money and Credit" by Ludwig Von Mises are excellent, extremely detailed and informative reads. bokonist presents a good overview of the Austrian case against inflation / monetary dilution elsewhere in this thread, so…
on “Inflation as a Compound Annual Interest Rate” ↗…the macro perspective which won't connect to anything at the individual level (Micro). If you want your kids to understand finance and by extension money you start with Mises on Human Action, then The Theory of Money and Credit, then Menger/Hayek, a review of Adam Smith's 5 volume set, and later Socialism.
on “EconTeen – Financial literacy lessons and tools for teens” ↗But you can’t actually use Bitcoin for anything? The Regression Theorem, first proposed by Ludwig von Mises in his 1912 book The Theory of Money and Credit, states that the value of money can be traced back ("regressed") to the goods and services it obtains. In other words, money is backed by some commodity that has intrinsic value. Recently, there has…
on “Is Bitcoin a Scam?” ↗…to denote price inflation rather than monetary inflation. The insistence that the term “inflation” ought be primarily rather used for “monetary inflation” goes back to at least Ludwig von Mises, The Theory of Money and Credit, 1912: “In theoretical investigation there is only one meaning that can rationally be attached to the expression inflation: an increase in the quantity of money (in the broader sense of the term, so…
on “Trump wins presidency for second time” ↗…utility to one person with the utility to another. Men differ in desires and in the degree and manner in which things appeal or appear to offer service. [p. 97] Or as Ludwig von Mises explained in The Theory of Money and Credit (1953) on the subject of "Total Value"[1]: > Value can rightly be spoken of only with regard to specific acts of appraisal. It exists in such connexions only; there is no value outside the process of…
on “Open Source Tax Software” ↗…but often necessary. Getting back to your response, If you are already familiar with the material that's covered rigorously (with historical footnote references) by Ludwig von Mises, in his book on the Theory of Money and Credit, then what's mentioned basically follows along similar lines of reasoning. It takes the criteria he uses of the various forms/groups of money, and money substitutes, and follows along the same analysis…
on “Trump's Tariff on Cheap Chinese Imports Will Cost Big Tech Billions” ↗…claims over which goods (or similar things like debt) can become money. I don't think the argument I made was strictly Misesian but it's similar and to his credit he was careful on this same point. In The Theory of Money and Credit he's clear that he doesn't argue for gold (or metallic currency) based on "intrinsic value". He even goes out of his way to specify cases where metallic tokens (like scheidemünze) may not be considered…
on “The Myth of the Barter Economy (2016)” ↗…without any fiat and printing, non-fiat currency has implicit value unlike fiat and you don't see people borrowing gold/silver these days. You'll find proper definitions of the types of money in Mises Theory of Money and Credit (money/money-substitutes). At its core any ambiguous indirection must be followed back to its underlying base or identity that is one or the other; which some people are bad at. Inflation doesn't improve…
on “The bewildering phenomenon of declining quality” ↗