The Case for Gold [Paperback]

Ron Paul (Author), Lewis Lehrman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2007

In 1982, Ron Paul served on the U.S. Gold Commission to evaluate the role of gold in the monetary system. In fact, the Commission was his idea. It was carrying forth a promise made in the Republican platform. Ron couldn't pick the members, so from the beginning, the deck was stacked. The majority was dominated by monetarists, who saw gold as too scarce and paper as just fine. Ron Paul's team was ready, however, with this marvelous minority report. Rarely has a dissent on a government commission done so much good! The result was The Case for Gold, and it was the greatest result of the commission. It covers the history of gold in the United States, explains that its breakdown was caused by governments, and explains the merit of having sound money: prices reflect market realities, government stays in check, and the people retain their freedom. The scholarship and rigor impressed even the critics of the minority. Ron and Lewis Lehrman worked with a team of economists that included Murray Rothbard, so it is hardly suprising that such a book would result. It still holds up as an excellent blueprint for moving beyond paper money and into the age of sound money. In particular, Ron favors complete monetary freedom to use any commodity as money, to make contracts in any money, and an end to the monopolization and printing power of the Federal Reserve. There is a strong piece of history in this book. Not since the 19th century has a political figure made such a sweeping and devastating case for radical monetary reform. This congressman ran circles around even the experts at the Fed. A dazzling performance indeed, and an inspiring and learned book. 245 pages, 6" x 9", paperback

Product Details

• Paperback: 227 pages
• Publisher: Ludwig von Mises Institute; 2 edition (2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1610161998
• ISBN-13: 978-1610161992
• ASIN: B000XG8T40
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #697,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ron Paul, an eleven-term congressman from Texas, is the leading advocate of freedom in our nation's capital. He has devoted his political career to the defense of individual liberty, sound money, and a non-interventionist foreign policy. Judge Andrew Napolitano calls him "the Thomas Jefferson of our day." After serving as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s, Dr. Paul moved to Texas to begin a civilian medical practice, delivering over four thousand babies in his career as an obstetrician. He served in Congress from 1976 to 1984, and again from 1996 to the present. He and Carol Paul, his wife of fifty-one years, have five children, eighteen grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.Ron Paul, the New York Post once wrote, is a politician who "cannot be bought by special interests." "There are few people in public life who, through thick and thin, rain or shine, stick to their principles," added a congressional colleague. "Ron Paul is one of those few."

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

109 of 119 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ron Paul's Report of the U.S. Gold Comission May 2, 2001

By R. Setliff

Format:Paperback

This book first written in the early 1980's by the honorable Congressman from Texas and Lewis Lehrman discusses the feasibility of bringing back the gold standard. Moreover, Paul makes the case for the gold standard and the case for abolishing the Federal Reserve, which has to its credit: a Great Depression, bloated government growth, skyrocketing public and private debt, stagnating economic growth, and an inflationary boom in the 1970's.

Amidst, rampant inflation of the 1970's, a skyrocketing deficit... Things didn't look so good and a number of business and political leaders seriously enterained and supported the idea of reverting back to the gold standard. Sooner or later the financial institutions and fiat money cartel will abuse its power of the press and inflate us into another depression. Perhaps then instead of migrating to a world bank and currency structure, we will kill the fiat money machine once and for all.

Lastly consider these words: "Under a gold standard, the amount of credit that an economy can support is determined by the economy's tangible assets, since every credit instrument is ultimately a claim on some tangible asset. But government bonds are not backed by tangible wealth, only by the government's promise to pay out of future tax revenues... A large volume of new government bonds can be sold to the public only at progressively higher interest rates. Thus, government spending under a gold standard is severely limited.... In the absence of a gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation.... This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists' tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the hidden confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process..." Moreover, the author also makes it known that the gold standard wouldn't have the prolonged economic distortions and vicious boom-and-bust cycles that fiat money systems have. Who was the author? None other than Alan Greenspan in an essay called Gold and Economic Freedom. When Greenspan, the Federal Reserve Chief, is face-to-face with Ron Paul... in the back of his head, he knows Paul is right and that the central bank is wrong!

52 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An economic history of the United States July 17, 2007

By Seth A. King

Format:Paperback

This book offers a well documented, detailed account of the history of money and banking in the United States. In it, Congressman Paul outlines why fractional-reserve banking, unenforced property rights and money not backed by hard assets cause inflation, and what the consequences of inflation really are. The concepts are fairly easy to grasp. Sadly, in a noble effort to achieve the greatest amount of integrity, and originally intended for an audience of higher caliber, this scholarly work is unlikely to be read by the average layperson. Albeit comprehensible by many, it combines two subjects - history and economics - that normally force all but the most steadfast inquirers of truth to avoid. I highly recommend this book to anybody interested in monetary policy and reform.

28 of 34 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best overviews of US monetary history August 7, 2007

By Asatar Bair

Format:Paperback

This book makes an excellent case for a return to a full gold standard. This is an idea that has been spurned by the economics mainstream, due in no small part to the influence of J.M. Keynes, who famously called gold the 'barbarous relic'. Fiat currencies, with their partner, fractional reserve banking, provide 'elasticity' to the money supply -- a sort of code word which means that they give to the government the ability to destroy the value of the currency at wil, inflating prices and causing a credit bubble which will inevitably pop, causing pain to both rich and poor.

This book is intended for the average educated reader, so do not expect a nuanced treatment of economic theory; yet what theory there is here is pretty clearly presented. If you like this book, you should also read Murray Rothbard's "The Case for the 100% Gold Dollar", "What has the government done to our money?"; also Griffin's "The Creature from Jekyll Island", and Bonner and Wiggin's recent work, "Empire of Debt".