Though now almost entirely forgotten, Herbert Spencer was among the most widely read thinkers during the late nineteenth century. As part of his system of synthetic philosophy, Herbert Spencer addressed the topics of money and banking. This philosophic system articulates a concept of justice based on the principle of equal freedom. Invoking this principle, Spencer rejected a government-superintended regime of money and banking as unjust. Instead, he morally favored a system of free banking. Spencer also defended this system on economic grounds. His argument was that banks could be self-regulating in their management of the money supply, on the condition that the government limit its activities in the financial sphere to the enforcement of contracts. While Spencer’s case is not beyond questioning on philosophic and political grounds, he offers a distinctive and forceful analysis.

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赫伯特斯宾塞的免费银行业务案例

虽然现在几乎完全被遗忘了，但赫伯特·斯宾塞是 19 世纪后期最广泛阅读的思想家之一。作为他的综合哲学体系的一部分，赫伯特·斯宾塞谈到了货币和银行业的主题。这一哲学体系阐明了基于平等自由原则的正义概念。援引这一原则，斯宾塞拒绝了政府监管的货币和银行制度是不公正的。相反，他在道德上支持自由银行体系。斯宾塞还以经济理由为这一制度辩护。他的论点是，银行可以在管理货币供应方面进行自我调节，条件是政府将其在金融领域的活动限制在合同的执行上。虽然斯宾塞的案例在哲学和政治方面并非无可置疑，