Murray Rothbard

EconomistAustrian1926–1995· American

Mises's most prominent American student and the central figure of late-20th-century libertarian Austrianism. What Has Government Done to Our Money? and The Mystery of Banking are the canonical libertarian indictments of fiat and fractional-reserve banking. His position — 100% specie reserves, no central bank — sits at the strict end of the hard-money spectrum, useful as the limit case in any monetary-design debate.