What Has Government Done to Our Money?

What Has Government Done to Our Money? was first published in 1962 as Money, free and unfree and then a year later under its current title. It details the history of money, from early barter systems, to the gold standard, to present-day systems of paper money. Rothbard explains how money was originally developed, and why gold was chosen as the preferred commodity to use as money. The author also explains how the gold standard makes money a commodity, and how market forces create a stable economy. Rothbard shows that many European governments went bankrupt due to World War I and left the gold standard in order to try to solve their financial issues, which was not the right solution. He also argues that this strategy was partially responsible for World War II and led to economic problems throughout the world.

Author Biography : Gene Callahan is an American economist and writer. He is an adjunct scholar with the Ludwig von Mises Institute, a charter member of the Michael Oakeshott Association, and is the author of two books, Economics for Real People and PUCK.

Callahan has written for Reason, The Freeman, The Free Market, Slick Times, Java Developer's Journal, Software Development, Dr. Dobb's Journal, Human Rights Review, Independent Review, NYU Journal of Law and Liberty, Review of Austrian Economics, and other publications. He was also a frequent contributor to LewRockwell.com, prior to 2008.

Originally from Connecticut, Callahan has a Master's degree from the London School of Economics, a PhD from Cardiff University, and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY