State Tamperings with Money and Banks

Herbert Spencer’s essay "State Tamperings with Money and Banks" was published in the Westminster Review in 1958. Spencer was known more as a philosopher, but he was equally versed in the technical details of money and banking. In his essay, Spencer argues that there is no reason why the state should interfere with money and banks. Each bank should be free to issue paper money guaranteed convertible in gold. It would be in each bank’s interest not to issue more banknotes than it can effectively redeem.