Herbert Spencer's Case for Free Banking

George Bragues and Jhet Assistant

No w2gqs, OSF Preprints from Center for Open Science

Abstract: Though now almost entirely forgotten, Herbert Spencer was among the most widely read thinkers during the late 19th century. As part of his system of synthetic philosophy, Herbert Spencer addressed the topics of money and banking. This philosophic system articulates a concept of justice based on the principle of equal freedom. Invoking this principle, Spencer rejected a government superintended regime of money and banking as unjust. Instead, he morally favored a system of free banking. Spencer also defended this system on economic grounds. His argument is that banks could be self-regulating in their management of the money supply, on the condition that the government limit its activities in the financial sphere to the enforcement of contracts. While Spencer’s case is not beyond questioning on philosophic and political grounds, he offers a distinctive and forceful analysis.

Date: 2021-02-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his, nep-hpe and nep-mon
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:osfxxx:w2gqs

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/w2gqs

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