Friedrich August von Hayek: [Rezension zu] R. A. Lehfeldt: Die Wiederherstellung der Währungen (1924)

Hayek’s German review assesses Lehfeldt’s argument for restoring the gold standard with circulating gold coins. Its central distinction is between practical usefulness and theoretical adequacy. Hayek recognizes Lehfeldt’s unusual knowledge of gold markets and production, but qualifies this praise with a precise analytical objection:

Den Theoretiker wird auch die den Ausführungen zugrunde liegende, stark vereinfachte Form der Quantitätstheorie kaum befriedigen.

English translation: The theorist, too, will scarcely be satisfied by the heavily simplified form of the quantity theory which underlies the exposition.

This reservation does not invalidate the book’s policy recommendations. It establishes the limits of Hayek’s endorsement: informed monetary judgment need not rest on satisfactory theoretical foundations. He also suggests that Lehfeldt’s emphasis on restoring gold coins to circulation partly reflects South Africa’s national interest in maintaining demand for gold. Practical expertise and the economic interests shaping a recommendation therefore remain distinct considerations.

The review examines proposals ranging from the adjustment of major coinage systems around multiples of the Japanese yen’s gold content to international measures for stabilizing gold’s value. Its recurring concern is the distance between an attractive monetary design and its implementation:

Irving Fishers Plan eines „Stabilized Dollar“ hält Professor Lehfeldt für theoretisch richtig, aber praktisch gegenwärtig undurchführbar.

English translation: Professor Lehfeldt holds Irving Fisher's plan of a "Stabilized Dollar" to be theoretically correct, but at present practically impracticable.

Hayek reports Lehfeldt’s alternative of an international commission regulating gold production when excessive output threatened its value, or coordinating the partial replacement of gold by monetary substitutes under opposite conditions. Restoration of the gold standard thus accompanies proposals for international management, rather than excluding them.

Hayek’s concluding appraisal favors feasibility over originality: Lehfeldt’s proposals appear closer to realization than more ingenious schemes. A brief criticism of the translation’s occasional heaviness completes the review. The resulting judgment is measured rather than unqualified, recognizing practical merit while preserving reservations about simplified theory and the national interests behind monetary policy.