For a change, we are putting forth a short, simple, and easy to understand essay for this week’s essay of the week. Like all short and simple things, The German Hyperinflation by George J.W. Goodman has its shortcomings. For one thing, the author’s knowledge of economics is poor. There is nothing mysterious or hard to fix about hyper inflation. One simply has to stop running the printing presses.

But such quibbles aside, the essay is full of valuable anecdotes for those who are not well acquainted with the history of German hyper inflation. The one lesson to take from this short essay is that inflation can get very bad and still not bring about the apocalypse. The apocalypse did come to Germany, but it came after the hyperinflation had been brought under control.

In other words, hell on earth does not come from economic systems that are not functioning properly. Rather, it comes from men who have been deified.