Symposium on Inflation (JCR Vol. 07 No. 01

When those of us associated with Chalcedon began warning people of the impending inflation, back in 1964, few listeners took us seriously. They simply cold not accept the fact that governments would not control their monetary policies. But year after year, as monetary inflation has continued, thereby producing price inflation, people have learned the grim reality of what we warned about a decade and a half ago.

The problem facing us today is massive. Few people understand the inflation process, and when people don’t understand what the cause of their problem is, and the problem gets serious enough, then they are likely to make serious errors—personal financial errors, political errors, and policy errors. If Christians have no better understanding of the causes and cures for inflation than the secular world does, then we are not going to be in a position to exercise effective leadership.

What the latest issue of The Journal covers is the inflation question: causes, effects, cures, and ineffective solutions that have failed in the past. We hope that people who have read this issue will have a far better perspective on the subject: what to do about it personally, what the political authorities should do, and what we can expect them to do. We can expect them to take steps that will compound the problems.