We have today a hybrid of two forms of banking — loan banking (non-inflationary) and deposit banking (inflationary if not 100% reserve holdings). The cause of booms is the credit expansion by central banks that is not backed by pools of private savings.

The longer the inflation-driven boom continues, the worse the inevitable clearing bust must be. Austrian policy is to leave everything alone to permit all the adjustments needed. Keynesian policy is to keep inflating. Theirs is a crisis of interventionism.

The tenth and final lecture from Fundamentals of Economic Analysis: A Causal-Realist Approach.

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In the history of money, bartering was awkward because wants were not divisible. Direct exchange depended upon a double coincidence of wants. Demand for a medium of exchange grew until a general medium of exchange emerged, like gold and silver.

A medium of exchange should display these characteristics: must be generally acceptable, widely demanded for non-monetary uses, easily portable, homogeneous, highly divisible and highly durable.

Although it is beneficial to have more of any other commodity, it is not true of money. A greater supply of money merely dilutes the purchasing power of each money unit. The consequences of inflation include a rise in prices, a fall in purchasing power, and a stealth tax on citizens.

The ninth in a series of ten lectures, from Fundamentals of Economic Analysis: A Causal-Realist Approach.

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Competition can mean rivalry or freedom. All firms must serve the preferences of consumers in order to exist. Monopoly has historically been an artificial privilege granted by the state.

Monopolies do not last for long in free markets unless maintained by government interventions. Antitrust policies were generally not demanded by consumers, but created by jealous competitors. Antitrust laws are insensible and wasteful.

The eighth in a series of ten lectures, from Fundamentals of Economic Analysis: A Causal-Realist Approach.

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