A great response! Let me see if I can shed some more light on this topic. "This phrase is the anti-science. No science operates based on \"commonly accepted\".

A great response! Let me see if I can shed some more light on this topic. "This phrase is the anti-science. No science operates based on \"commonly accepted\"." Exactly! And, there is a very good reason for this. Economics is not a science. It is a social science that makes some use of the scientific method. Within this context, meta-analysis becomes extremely important for drawing pertinent conclusions. This is just a side note, because it seems that we have crossed our wires somewhere. "Consider how absurd it would be for any modern economist to claim that a form of money, which was banned in 1933, was the cause of prolonging the great depression." I should have been more clear. I was referring to the global economic instability (generally manifesting itself as a number of depressions across the Bretton Woods countries) that preceded the collapse of the Bretton Woods System. I have to apologize, but when I see "gold standard" I immediately start my Bretton Woods rebuttal. It is a reflex reaction from spending too much time arguing with Austrian economists. Of course, the grandparent post was referring to the Great Depression. Well, all is not lost. Dr. Scott Sumner (my favorite practicing economist) has a nice starter post on the Great Depression: http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=4161 http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=4161