Economic history is rarely taught in universities these days. This is a pity, since it is a better guide to policymaking than Nobel Prize winning theses in economic theory. As a result, every two generations or so we are destined to repeat serious policy mistakes. In Britain the Truss government failed to study the Barber Boom of 1972-73 and arguably the world’s central banks too have failed to learn from the oil price shocks of 1973 and 1980.
Stephen D King’s highly readable and informative book provides a welcome antidote. Its title is spot on. We should talk about inflation, not least because of its arbitrary incidence. It penalises thrift and rewards profligacy. It makes planning difficult. And it enables government through sleight of hand to impose stealth taxes through freezing tax thresholds and to cut real wage cuts on its employees.
King’s canter through 2,000 years of inflationary history — from Emperor Diocletian’s debasement of the coinage through to the Federal Reserve’s decision in 2021 to allow inflation to run at above the 2 per cent “central target” — is instructive. Money matters. Print too much and inflation generally follows. But sadly the quantity of money and inflation is not so correlated as to make monetarism — the strict control of supply — an effective policy guide.