Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- General Introduction
- Note to the reader
- Preface
- Preface to the French Edition
- 1 THE CONSEQUENCES TO SOCIETY OF CHANGES IN THE VALUE OF MONEY
- 2 PUBLIC FINANCE AND CHANGES IN THE VALUE OF MONEY
- 3 THE THEORY OF MONEY AND THE EXCHANGES
- 4 ALTERNATIVE AIMS IN MONETARY POLICY
- 5 POSITIVE SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE REGULATION OF MONEY
- Appendix I
- Appendix II
- Appendix III
- Index
4 - ALTERNATIVE AIMS IN MONETARY POLICY
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- General Introduction
- Note to the reader
- Preface
- Preface to the French Edition
- 1 THE CONSEQUENCES TO SOCIETY OF CHANGES IN THE VALUE OF MONEY
- 2 PUBLIC FINANCE AND CHANGES IN THE VALUE OF MONEY
- 3 THE THEORY OF MONEY AND THE EXCHANGES
- 4 ALTERNATIVE AIMS IN MONETARY POLICY
- 5 POSITIVE SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE REGULATION OF MONEY
- Appendix I
- Appendix II
- Appendix III
- Index
Summary
Our first two chapters, on the evils proceeding from instability in the purchasing power of money and on the part played by the exigencies of public finance, have indicated the practical importance of our subject to the welfare of society. In the third chapter an attempt has been made to lay a foundation of theory upon which to raise constructions. We can now turn, in this and the following chapter, to remedies.
The instability of money has been compounded, in most countries except the United States, of two elements: the failure of the national currencies to remain stable in terms of what was supposed to be the standard of value, namely gold; and the failure of gold itself to remain stable in terms of purchasing power. Attention has been mainly concentrated (e.g. by the Cunliffe Committee) on the first of these two factors. It is often assumed that the restoration of the gold standard, that is to say, of the convertibility of each national currency at a fixed rate in terms of gold, must be, in any case, our objective; and that the main question of controversy is whether national currencies should be restored to their pre-war gold value or to some lower value nearer to the present facts; in other words, the choice between deflation and devaluation.
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- Information
- The Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes , pp. 116 - 140Publisher: Royal Economic SocietyPrint publication year: 1978