PROTECTION AND WEALTH BUILDING STRATEGIES 239to be a reality during stable economic times.
But when the legislative and executive branches become
dysfunctional, as they are today, and when debts and deficits
spin out of control, as they appear to be, then central banks
must bow to the politicians and monetize the debt by mon-
ey printing. This is what happened in Germany in 1921–23.
Something similar may be starting to happen in the U.S. today.
The U.S. is not yet at the point of no return that Germany
reached in 1921. But it is moving in the same direction. It
has a dysfunctional political class and accommodating central
bankers. Taylor’s book is must-read if you want to know about
the warning signs of hyperinflation before its most virulent
stage wipes out your savings and pensions.
Mark Twain once wrote, “No occurrence is sole and soli-
tary, but is merely a repetition of a thing which has happened
before.” Taylor’s insightful and lucid account offers an historic
guide to something that has happened before and that may
repeat in the U.S. under remarkably similar conditions.
■ When Money Dies
Taylor’s book is the second account of the Weimar hyperinfla-
tion published in recent years. An earlier book, When Money
Dies, by Adam Fergusson, was republished in 2010 and re-
ceived excellent reviews. I recommend it too, but it does not
have the depth of Taylor’s account.
Fergusson extensively chronicles events and includes
moving anecdotes about food riots, starvation and suicide,
showing the social impact of hyperinflation. Taylor’s book does
too, but dives deeper into the political dynamics that allowed
the hyperinflation to begin and continue. In short, Fergusson
gives you the what and when of Weimar, while Taylor gives you
the why.