Mead’s argument in God and Gold is bunk because it assumes the public has trust in government.

“Historian Niall Ferguson estimates that the British national debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) during the French wars reached levels that would still shock us today. At the end of the American Revolution, the British national debt stood at 222 percent of GDP; at its peak in 1822 it was at 268 percent of GDP. Britain’s ability to bear this load, and to flourish while bearing it, was one of the wonders of the world.

The Bank of England was possible because English society was based on long-established traditions of liberty and law. Because parliamentary government was felt to be legitimate and responsive to public opinion, the people at large would consent to the taxes it imposed to honor the obligations that the government made.”

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Trust in Government Nears All-Time Low (CBS)