Mefistofele e l'inflazione

Mephistopheles and Inflation

Abstract disponibile solo in lingua inglese

This unpublished paper, written in 1982, deals with one of Brunner's favourite research topics – money, inflation and public choice. Brunner argues that inflation is a chiefly monetary phenomenon – money is power. Something which Mephistopheles in the Faust legend grasped only too well when he suggested that the Emperor guarantee his paper money with all the unknown, buried treasures of the empire. The only improvements modern democracies have made to Mephistopheles' scheme have been technological. Politicians resort to inflation simply because it entails a lower cost than cutting expenditure or raising tax rates. Permanent inflation reflects the political crisis which pervades modern societies and pushes us closer to Leviathan.