The U.S. dollar and most national currencies are defined by the government but issued by banks. In this 5 session course, Allen Smith will explain the simple mechanics by which private bank create money through debt contracts. The course will also describe the working of the payment system, the role of central banks and explain how our money system influences economic choices and social outcomes such as wealth inequality. This course will combine a study of relevant theories with applications to recent events and policy debates. In this connection, Henry George’s concept of money will be re-visited as well as the relations between finance and land markets.

Instructor: Allen Smith

Although Henry George is best known for promoting the land value tax, he was also a Greenbacker who believed that only government should create money and that credit issued by private banks should not be co-mingled with that money. The most sophisticated articulation of this proposal originated from the monetary economics school of the University of Chicago in what came to be known as the Chicago Plan.

In a series of four lectures, Dan Sullivan discusses how this proposal is superior to any other monetary reform plan, including private currencies, local currencies, public banking, and modern monetary theory.

Instructor: Dan Sullivan