John Law: Dark Prince of Finance

In this lengthy teaser, I tell the story of the Scotsman John Law, a mathematical genius who developed ideas about paper currency that were ahead of their time. He also happened to be a high-stakes gambler and convicted murderer. Early in the 18th century, he persuaded the French monarchy to promote industry by forgoing the use of precious metals as money. The end results were unfortunate, ultimately contributing to the causes of the French Revolution. His ideas, however, were prescient, and stand as a foundation of modern currency systems. This video is intended to introduce the moral and economic principles of the Scottish philosopher, Adam Smith, who argued against the commonly-held idea that money, whether gold or paper, is the measure of national wealth and power. Although Smith is usually described as the father of classical economics, his ideas integrated psychology, ethics and the social sciences. They remain as relevant now as in the earliest days of the Enlightenment.

Видео John Law: Dark Prince of Finance канала Tom Halasz