The Demise of the Gold Standard
It is ironic that most of the recent agitation for a return to some form of gold standard has come from the United States, whose official policies played a leading role in the destruction of that standard. After describing the conduct of governments necessary for the successful operation of a gold standard, this article tells the story of the failure of the post-World War I attempt by the British to restore the pre-1914 monetary system—an attempt doomed to failure by the refusal of the United States and France to play by the rules of the gold standard game.
