Introductory

Abstract

There has always been a tendency on the part of writers on currency through the ages to conform to the prevailing fashions in respect of monetary theories and policies. Even allowing for this, the number of economists, financial editors and others writing or speaking about foreign exchange who in recent years joined the camp of advocates of floating exchanges is really amazing. So is the variety of reasons for which they have become convinced that it would be to the interests of Britain and of other advanced countries to abandon the stability of their exchanges. There is growing pressure on Governments, particularly from academic circles but also on the part of politicians of the irresponsible type, and by a large section of the Press, to allow the exchanges to float freely, or at any rate to adopt some system under which exchange rates would become much more flexible.