Why the Euro, Like the Gold Standard, is Doomed to Fail

Ann Pettifor

Ann Pettifor has written a very thoughtful analysis of the Euro currency, that compares its shortcomings to that of the Gold Standard. If you follow her line of reasoning the question then becomes not if the Euro will fail, but when.

PrimeEconomics.org:
Why the Euro is like the gold standard writ large... --

The euro not only replicated key elements of the gold standard – but went much further: European currencies were simply abolished. States lost control over both their currency and their central bank. Parallels with the operation of the gold standard explain why, like the gold standard, the euro will fail.

The euro system denies monetary policy autonomy to states, and like the gold standard, insists on full capital mobility, over-values the shared currency, creates a sense of euphoria and excess when introduced into a new state; then applies deflationary pressures on indebted states, and like the gold standard encourages nationalisms, protectionism and political resistance: the very opposite of the liberalizing motives of its architects.

The article kicks off with a good quote for former Greece Finance Minister, Yannis Varoufakis:

A paradox lurks in the foundations of the eurozone. Governments in the monetary union lack a central bank that has their back, while the central bank lacks a government to support it.