Böcker av Irving Fisher

Irving Fisher's interest in public health was the result of a bout with tuberculosis, after which he wrote "How to Live: Rules for Healthful Living Based on Modern Science". In his foreword to the book, former president and then-future Chief Justice William Howard Taft wrote that there were many "considerations that have influenced me to cooperate with the life extension movement, and to commend this volume to the earnest consideration of all who desire authoritative guidance in improving their own physical condition or in making effective the knowledge now available for bringing health and happiness to our people." To do that, the authors present chapters on the air, food, poisons, activities, and general hygiene, followed by sections dealing with being overweight or underweight, alcohol, posture, and tobacco -- and even how to avoid colds. Irving Fisher was a top American economist in the early 20th century who earned the first Ph.D. in economics awarded by Yale University, where he also taught political economy. He was an accomplished mathematician and an engaging and talented writer on even the most technical of subjects whose investigations ranged beyond economics to encompass astronomy, health and hygiene, mechanics, philosophy, poetry, science, and myriad public policy issues. Dr. Eugene Lyman Fisk was the chairman of the Life Extension Institute, under whose auspices this book was published.

Que dirions-nous si notre mètre, notre kilo, notre boisseau, notre litre, notre kilowatt augmentaient ou diminuaient, et du simple au quadruple, et sans discontinuer? Supposez qu'une Compagnie de Chemin de fer passe une commande de traverses de six pieds, et que le pied quadruple de longueur avant la date de livraison. Supposez qu'un élévateur à céréales achète mille boisseaux de froment et que le boisseau se recroqueville au quart de sa taille primitive. Notre dollar, mesure de valeur, varie comme varieraient un mètre de caoutchouc, un kilo de coton hydrophile qui s'imprégnerait d'eau pour sécher ensuite suivant l'état de l'atmosphère.

Et si notre système monétaire n'avait jamais été mûrement réfléchi ?C'est peut-être en partant de cette question toute simple qu'il faudrait étudier le problème monétaire. L'opinion d'Irving Fisher en 1935, lors de l'écriture de 100% Money 6 ans après le début de la grande dépression, est claire : il n'a jamais été mûrement réfléchi par un quelconque décideur. Le système monétaire ayant cours à cette époque aux États-Unis et dans la majeure partie des pays industrialisés ne serait qu'une pure contingence de l'histoire modelée au cours des siècles par l'appât du gain des banquiers. Il serait le maillon faible de notre système économique et la cause principale des épisodes récurrents de boom et de dépression dont souffrent les économies capitalistes depuis des siècles.

In economics, money illusion refers to the tendency of people to think of currency in nominal, rather than real, terms. This is a fallacy as modern fiat currencies have no inherent value and their real value is derived from their ability to be exchanged for goods and used for payment of taxes. The term was coined by John Maynard Keynes in the early twentieth century, and Irving Fisher book, The Money Illusion, is one of the most important works on the subject.