Why Britain Put the Pound Back on Gold — And Crushed Its Own Economy
Economic Origins
1,069 views
Britain returned to the gold standard in 1925, a move that crushed its own economy. This video explores why they did it, despite warnings it would be "hell." It wasn't a simple miscalculation. It was a deliberate choice that transferred wealth from workers to creditors, using a mechanism designed to be immune to democratic pressure.
Discover how Winston Churchill, an amateur in finance, was persuaded by the Treasury and the Bank of England to adopt a policy that priced British goods out of foreign markets. Learn how the gold standard worked not by magic, but through unemployment, forcing wages down in export industries like coal and shipbuilding. This led directly to the General Strike of 1926 and economic devastation in the industrial north.
The story reveals the hidden conflict between industrial Britain, which wanted a cheap pound, and financial Britain, which demanded a strong, stable currency. It shows how the return to gold was a transfer of income, enriching holders of war bonds at the expense of the working class, all without a single vote.
See how the policy ultimately failed spectacularly, forcing Britain off gold in 1931 in a crisis that destroyed a government. And understand the lasting lesson: the most brutal economic policies are often presented as unavoidable technical facts, when they are actually choices that protect one group's wealth by making another group's job the shock absorber.
Would you have backed Keynes or the gold standard in 1925? Tell me in the comments.
#BritishHistory #EconomicHistory #GoldStandard #GreatDepression #WinstonChurchill #KeynesianEconomics
2 Comments
Wrong choices in pegging the pound sterling to gold, in managing North Sea oil profits, in dismantling its real industries to bet everything on the financial sector, in opting for Brexit... and so on.
It has abused its right to make mistakes...
It is reaping the same outcome as Spain (a former superpower).
The US is heading down the same path.
Why Britain Put the Pound Back on Gold — And Crushed Its Own Economy
Economic Origins
1,069 views
Britain returned to the gold standard in 1925, a move that crushed its own economy. This video explores why they did it, despite warnings it would be "hell." It wasn't a simple miscalculation. It was a deliberate choice that transferred wealth from workers to creditors, using a mechanism designed to be immune to democratic pressure.
Discover how Winston Churchill, an amateur in finance, was persuaded by the Treasury and the Bank of England to adopt a policy that priced British goods out of foreign markets. Learn how the gold standard worked not by magic, but through unemployment, forcing wages down in export industries like coal and shipbuilding. This led directly to the General Strike of 1926 and economic devastation in the industrial north.
The story reveals the hidden conflict between industrial Britain, which wanted a cheap pound, and financial Britain, which demanded a strong, stable currency. It shows how the return to gold was a transfer of income, enriching holders of war bonds at the expense of the working class, all without a single vote.
See how the policy ultimately failed spectacularly, forcing Britain off gold in 1931 in a crisis that destroyed a government. And understand the lasting lesson: the most brutal economic policies are often presented as unavoidable technical facts, when they are actually choices that protect one group's wealth by making another group's job the shock absorber.
Would you have backed Keynes or the gold standard in 1925? Tell me in the comments.
#BritishHistory #EconomicHistory #GoldStandard #GreatDepression #WinstonChurchill #KeynesianEconomics
Later, he led Britain into a war on behalf of alien interests, that bankrupted the country.
When he was PM the second time from 1951-1955, he expanded coloured immigration from 3000 to 10000 per year, while claiming to "Keep Britain White".
As David Irving wrote, "He destroyed two empires, one of which was the enemy's.
Britain was forced off Gold in 1931 anyway. The years 1925-1931 were of untold misery for Britain's working class, and sowed the seeds of division that haunts the country to this day.