Free-Market Money

An Antidote for the Historic Age

We truly are living in historic times. That’s not hyperbole—it’s a reality being laid bare by David Stockman in his latest essay, “Free Market Money: The Antidote”, published August 9, 2025.

Money as Digital Ledger

Stockman captures our era with stark clarity: “money has become entirely a matter of digital ledger entries and a derivative of private credit”. Gone are the days when tangible currency circulated widely. Instead, we exist in a world of clicks, numbers, and credit-based constructs—a transformation that reshapes what money is and what a central bank means.

The Fed’s Obsolete Premise

He argues that the original Glassian Fed—rooted in passive reserve provision and no macro‑economic targets—has become obsolete. In March 2020, reserve requirements were abolished, eliminating the Fed’s foundational role in supplying elastic currency under the real‑bills doctrine. As Stockman puts it, the American economy “no longer needs a central bank to print ‘money’ in either paper or digital form”.

Securitize, Price, and Let Markets Decide

Rather than relying on central bank largesse, Stockman envisions a system where “a marketplace that can find ways to securitize the likes of credit card receivables and recorded music royalties doesn’t need central bank credit at all.” The free market, he insists, can both make the credit and price it—informed by real-world supply and demand, not the whims of bureaucrats.

Political Theater Meets Economic Reality

Stockman does not shy away from political theater. He references “the Donald’s verbal bombing of the Fed,” suggesting that—even if politically charged—it could open a door: a lasting truce in which neither Wall Street nor Washington’s spenders hold the people’s money hostage at Eccles Building—allowing Main Street to pursue its economic betterments on a free-market of honest money and credit.

Historic Times, Historic Choices

Throughout, Stockman delivers—forcefully and rightfully—the case that we are at a moment of profound systemic realignment. Policymakers have dismantled the historic functions of the Fed; what remains is a monetary reality governed by private credit, digital entries, and securitized instruments.

As someone who’s long preached that these are historic times, Stockman’s words resonate like a beacon:

• “Money has become entirely a matter of digital ledger entries…”

• “The American economy no longer needs a central bank…”

• “The free market can both make the credit and price it.”

These are not abstract ideas—they are the contours of our economic reality.

This is more than commentary—it’s a turning point. As Stockman articulates an economy freed from central-bank fiat, we’re watching a revolution unfold in real time.

The question now is whether we, living in these historic times, will grasp the opportunity to redefine money, credit, and freedom on free-market terms.