WTF Happened In 1971?

3 years ago by Sabakodgo to c/weirdwebsites

"I don't believe we shall ever have a good money again before we take the thing out of the hands of government, that is, we can't take it violently out of the hands of government, all we can do is by some sly roundabout way introduce something that they can't stop." - F.A. Hayek 1984

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Lukecis 4 points 3 years ago

So what happened in the 1970s?

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zed 3 points 3 years ago

I'm going guess it had something to do with the US dollar becoming a fiat currency:

On 15 August 1971, the United States terminated convertibility of the US dollar to gold, effectively bringing the Bretton Woods system to an end and rendering the dollar a fiat currency. Shortly thereafter, many fixed currencies (such as the pound sterling) also became free-floating, and the subsequent era has been characterized by floating exchange rates. The end of Bretton Woods was formally ratified by the Jamaica Accords in 1976.

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zos_kia 2 points 3 years ago

I swear to God monetarists are so fucking boring let them speak for 5 minutes and they'll explain to you how the end of the gold standard caused the Black Plague or the sinking of the Titanic. I just hate that people will see an enormously complex and subtle subject and reduce it to an edgy hot take then use that take to explain every little phenomenon.

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Lukecis 0 points 3 years ago

Yeah, that checks out.

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JMan 1 point 3 years ago

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Martineski 1 point 3 years ago

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