Unjust Measures
My sisters and mother like to sew, and one may often find them at the fabric store looking for a pattern, some suitable fabric for their creations, or any number of accessories to aid their sewing endeavors. I have accompanied them on a few of these occasions; each time I am with them, they tell the worker how much fabric -- usually in terms of yards, I believe -- they wish to purchase.Unless the pattern is incorrect or the sewing method is faulty, the garments almost always end up fitting properly. Additionally, there always seems to be enough fabric to complete the project.
As I am not a sewing expert, I will not delve into this particular topic. However, it is interesting to observe that the fabric store, the pattern maker, my sisters and mother, and the measuring tape industry, each employ a common standard or measure: the inch. Twelve of these translates into a foot, and three feet makes 1 yard. Everyone knows this and takes it for granted; some would even question why I bother mentioning it.
Suppose, if you would, that a fabric store decided to shrink its definition of one inch by, say, a millimeter. In the whole scheme of things, 36 millimeters is not very much -- surely no one who purchased a yard would notice. Over time, the store would save quite a bit of fabric and would make the same amount of money. Would anyone have a problem with this?
I am confident that if my mom and sisters discerned the faulty measure, they would politely return the fabric and ask if the worker might have made a mistake. If they found out that this "error" was intentional -- that they had been deceived and defrauded -- they would no doubt cease to patronize this store and would likely call an appropriate government agency to investigate this action which can only properly be called theft.
Now, suppose that the state passed a law saying, "No one may sell fabric except what is supplied and approved by the state. Henceforth, anyone who produces or sells fabric not approved by the state shall be fined or imprisoned." Many people would object, but suppose the state made the arguments that fabric stores were selling inferior fabric, that stores were cheating customers, and that the supply of fabric was not as flexible as it should be to satisfy the needs of seamstresses. Over time, people might accept this line of reasoning and concede that the state alone should regulate the creation, distribution, and standards for fabric.
Let us say that the state, seeing a large profit opportunity, decided to slightly lower the standards for the fabric it supplied. Let us also suppose that the state declared it would receive the same amount of money per inch of fabric sold but that each "inch" would be equivalent to what the free market historically defined as a half inch.
The state has reversed roles. Instead of enforcing justice and proper standards of measurement, it has debased the fabric, destroyed the measurements, and necessitated a return to the free market system -- where the honest are rewarded and the fraudulent lose -- that it has legally proscribed.
What if we applied this bit of analysis to money? We could observe that the historical standard -- the "weight" or "measure" -- of the "dollar" was 371.25 grains (troy) of fine silver. We could note that the federal government used to enforce this definition of the dollar. We could further trace the progression (rather, decline) of the dollar since 1913 when the Federal Reserve was established and started progressively redefining the dollar to make it worth less, to the benefit of the state and the various parties with a vested interest in this larceny.
Why are Christians willing to give the state a free pass in redefining the standard of money, when we would make every effort to bring wrath and judgment upon a fraudulent fabric store operation? The time has come to realize that the state and its money is a grave threat to our freedom, a prime means by which welfarism and warfarism are foisted upon us, and a principal historical cause of societal decapitalization and decreased standards of living. Not to mention, the modern fiat money system violates proper scriptural standards for just weights and measures.
Dr. North has written the most brilliant analysis I have read on this topic, Honest Money. Murray Rothbard, though very definitely not a Christian, gives some very helpful historical and economic analysis in his various works, including: What has Government Done to Our Money? (available free online here), The Case for the 100 Percent Gold Dollar, The Case for a Genuine Gold Dollar, The Mystery of Banking (.pdf file), and The Origins of the Federal Reserve (.pdf file).
Mark Rushdoony published a brief article yesterday presenting a summary of the biblical and historical arguments against statist fiat money and the accompanying inflation that inevitably occurs. (Inflation, contrary to what many say, is an increase in the supply of money. Rising prices are a result, not the definition, of inflation.) There are plenty of other great resources available on this topic from biblical, economic, and historical perspectives. Check out some of Tom Rose's articles, as well as the writings of Timothy Terrell, including this article.
What are Christians to do? We discussed the limited liability corporation in previous posts (here, here, and here) and wondered if Christians should completely abandon these business forms. This may not seem "practical" or "realistic" in our modern society, and neither does abandoning fiat money, at least for the time being. At the very least, we should position ourselves to face a coming economic disaster, the warning signs of which are all around us.
A society that debases its moral standards cannot last long, and we have done this. A society that debases its money seeks judgment and destruction since moral and monetary debasement are logically connected, as Gary North points out in Honest Money. How long do we have to prepare for the impending judgment?
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7).
posted by C.S. Hayden @ 4:50 PM
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