Návrat inflace: Kluzká cesta bezstarostného zadlužování – Klaus Václav (2022)

There is no doubt that inflation is one of the most effective ways to bring about economic collapse, political chaos and the impoverishment, and consequently radicalisation, of thousands or millions of people. Inflation now threatens us, and we are already experiencing it. Inflation is a reality in our country and throughout the Western world, as shown by people’s feelings and authentic experiences, as well as by statistical data, however imprecise. As a manifestation of serious economic imbalance, inflation has specific economic causes which, on the demand side, arise from the behaviour of central banks and the governments of individual countries. Yet this behaviour also has much more general causes that extend beyond the economic dimension of reality and are connected with the social and economic organisation of countries. They are therefore systemic in nature and are also linked to the dominant way of thinking at a given moment. Inflation is not an accidental defect in the thinking and behaviour of bankers and financiers. A major role in its emergence today is played by an entitlement-based way of thinking, which has spread throughout the contemporary world on an unprecedented scale. It severs the link between performance and entitlement, merit and reward, while governments and central banks come to accept this feature of the present age. This systemic characteristic, which is not directly related to specific economic policy, severely limits the ability of governments and central banks to deal with inflation. Nevertheless, it does not excuse their many obvious failures.