Originally published in 1960, this book examines how inflation as a policy has come about in modern democracies, how it works, how to avoid it and at what cost. In non-technical terms it explains what inflation does, both to society and its individual elements, to weaken and hamper democracy. Including examples from the UK, Germany, France, Scandinavia, the USA and the former Soviet Union this volume examines inflation at work in widely differing communities since Roman Times to the late twentieth century.