Cassandra and the Myth of the Invisible Hand

Once again, unfortunately, Keynes was to fulfill his role as Cassandra. Hardly a year had passed since the publication of A Tract on Monetary Reform when Winston Churchill, then chancellor of the Exchequer, and the British government decreed that sterling return to its prewar parity of $4.86 = £1. The decision was taken on 28 April 1925. Having abandoned the gold standard in 1914, Britain renewed the tie. The system was not loved; accepted because it had to be, it was to survive until September 1931.