As one of Rome's seven hills, the Capitoline Hill occupied the center of the ancient city. Seated upon the Capitoline once rested the Temple of Juno Moneta. This goddess was the protectress of the funds (hence the invention of the words "money," "monetary,""mint"), the word Moneta being derived from Latin monere, which means remind, warn, or instruct. By 273 B.C.E., the temple was the site of Rome's silver mint, as silver was the primary metal used in the Roman government's money.
But Juno could not protect the Roman currency forever. Either her warnings of monetary inflation and debasement were never heard, or they were ignored by the emperors. Following the collapse of the debased silver denarius in the late 200s C.E., the Emperor Diocletian (285-305) instituted a new system of coinage. New coins were minted, and using an ever-increasing amount of copper in place of the more valuable silver. The influx of new and less-valuable coinage led to significant waves of inflation, and by 301, the prices for ordinary goods had risen out of control.
In late 301, Diocletian issued the Edict on Maximum Prices (Edictum De Pretiis Rerum Venalium), declaring price controls on over 1000 goods, and enforced this edict with coercion and violence. By the end of Diocletian's reign however, the price controls did nothing but create black markets and force the people to exchange by barter. This ignorance of inflation and the laws of supply and demand undoubtedly contributed to the Empire's steady political and military decline over the following centuries.
We come to the mission of this blog. We will research the past and present economic situations of the world and the United States in order to gain greater understanding. As a modern-day Juno Moneta, we seek to remind, warn, and instruct interested readers in enlightened economic thought. This blog is not intended to be partisan, as there can only be good and bad economics, not "left" or "right" economics. We strive to utilize illuminations from a diverse array of economic thought to light our path.
But Juno could not protect the Roman currency forever. Either her warnings of monetary inflation and debasement were never heard, or they were ignored by the emperors. Following the collapse of the debased silver denarius in the late 200s C.E., the Emperor Diocletian (285-305) instituted a new system of coinage. New coins were minted, and using an ever-increasing amount of copper in place of the more valuable silver. The influx of new and less-valuable coinage led to significant waves of inflation, and by 301, the prices for ordinary goods had risen out of control.
In late 301, Diocletian issued the Edict on Maximum Prices (Edictum De Pretiis Rerum Venalium), declaring price controls on over 1000 goods, and enforced this edict with coercion and violence. By the end of Diocletian's reign however, the price controls did nothing but create black markets and force the people to exchange by barter. This ignorance of inflation and the laws of supply and demand undoubtedly contributed to the Empire's steady political and military decline over the following centuries.
We come to the mission of this blog. We will research the past and present economic situations of the world and the United States in order to gain greater understanding. As a modern-day Juno Moneta, we seek to remind, warn, and instruct interested readers in enlightened economic thought. This blog is not intended to be partisan, as there can only be good and bad economics, not "left" or "right" economics. We strive to utilize illuminations from a diverse array of economic thought to light our path.
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