I think there’s a missing lecture at LibertyClassroom. I believe there needs to be a lecture to cover the “Long Depression” from 1873-1879 (or even the entire “Great Depression” from 1873-1896). To most armchair economists/historians (including myself) I’ve talked to, the understanding of this period is really general. Even Austrian supporters who recognize that the period appears to be one of mostly growth, not persistent decline, seem to struggle on specifics, quotes, stats, etc. that support that claim (and explain stats like unemployment, Industrial Index, etc). In addition, most revisionist articles one can find on the period appear to mostly simply quote/reference Rothbard’s History of Money and Banking.
Since this period is one of the best (US) historical counterexamples to the idea that falling prices (price deflation) is an economy killer that leads to an economic death-spiral, I think a good long walk through the stats (as they exist) and other contemporary sources that challenge the typical argument of persistent decline and suffering would be a welcome and useful addition to this course.
Thank you.
