This is a review of Ludwig von Mises’s book The Theory of Money and Credit. All investment strategies, principles, and recommendations discussed are those presented in the book and reflect the author’s views, not my personal advice.

Libertarian and pro-freedom movements have always drawn disproportionate support from the extremes of the IQ bell curve. The modern Left—pointing to the intellectual shortcomings of some of liberty’s most colorful supporters on the lower end—clumsily attempts to wield this fact as an argument against the Right. Meanwhile, the enlightened Right scratches its head, puzzled by this strange and exotic coalition rallying behind the cause of freedom.

In his 1995 article titled “Repeal ’64,” Lew Rockwell argued against extending the Civil Rights Act 1964 to new areas of application, on the basis that, “Bad law should be repealed, not extended.” His primary objection to expanding civil rights protection to the new groups of victims that emerge daily was that the civil rights regime is incompatible with basic individual liberties such as freedom of association, freedom of contract, and freedom of expression.

Inflation, bailouts, and ultra-low interest rates have widened the wealth gap in the United States. This is no natural market phenomenon, but is driven largely by monetary inflation which always benefits some groups at the expense of others. This has become more apparent during our current age of cronyist interventionism which accelerated following the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. The trend was again solidified during the Covid Panic when forced business closures and 40-year highs in price inflation put further stress on the more marginal businesses.

It is widely held that financial asset markets fully reflect all available and relevant information, and that any adjustment to new information is virtually instantaneous. (For a review and critique of the relevant literature, see E.C.