Fiat Money Inflation in France

This audiobook is narrated using AI-generated voice technology. Fiat Money Inflation in France is a sharp, document-driven warning drawn from the French Revolution's most famous monetary experiment: the rise and collapse of the assignats—paper money issued in massive quantities and backed by confiscated lands. Andrew Dickson White follows the story step by step: the initial political promise, the early "temporary" issues, the pressure to print more, the surge in prices, the growth of speculation and shortages, and the social unraveling that follows when trust in currency breaks. Part narrative history and part economic argument, the book is designed for citizens as much as for scholars. White builds his case through speeches, decrees, newspaper accounts, and everyday details—showing how inflation reshapes behavior: savings evaporate, wages lag, moral shortcuts become rational, and public life turns brittle. Whatever your politics, it's an unforgettable study of what happens when money becomes a tool of wishful thinking instead of a stable measure of value.