The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Preface
• Publisher’s Note
• Foreword [to the Original Edition]
• The Rationale of Central Banking
• Chapter I: Introduction
• Chapter II: The Development of Central Banking In England
• Chapter III: The Scottish System
• Chapter IV: The Development of Central Banking In France
• Chapter V: The Organisation of Banking In America: Decentralisation Without Freedom
• Chapter VI: The Development of Central Banking In Germany 1
• Chapter VII: Discussions On the Theory of the Subject In England and America Prior to 1848
• Chapter VIII: The Discussions In France and Belgium
• Chapter IX: The Discussions In Germany
• Chapter X: The Post-1848 Discussions In England
• Chapter XI: Discussions In America Prior to the Foundation of the Federal Reserve System
• Chapter XII: The Arguments In Favour of Central Banking Reconsidered
• Appendix: On the Working of the “automatic Mechanism” of Credit Control
• 1.: The Note–issuing Case
• 2.: The Deposit Credit Case

Publisher’s Note

The publisher would like to thank Mrs. Brenda K. Fowler and Mr. A. Wilson-Smith for their help in bringing their sister’s book back into print. Their assistance has been invaluable.

The Rationale of Central Banking was originally published in 1936 by P. S. King and Son in London. We have added the subtitle and the Free Banking Alternative to more adequately reflect the breadth and spirit of the work.

For this LibertyPress edition, we have newly set the type. Obvious spelling errors have been silently corrected. Footnotes are now numbered consecutively within each chapter. Otherwise, the text and the footnotes have been retained and styled as they were in the original. The bibliography, however, has been significantly enhanced. Citations in the original edition included only last name, title, and year. We have provided full bibliographic information. For their assistance in providing this information on American, English, French, German, and Italian titles, we would like to thank the following scholars: Professor Lawrence White of the University of Georgia, Professor Philippe Nataf of the University of Paris, and Dr. Reinhold Veit and Mrs. Wendula v. Klinckowstroem of the Walter Eucken Institut. A new, full index has been prepared for this edition.