End The Fed, by Ron Paul: My Book Summary & Review

End The Fed by Ron Paul Book Summary & Review

End The Fed, by Ron Paul

My Book Summary & Review

Easily one of my all-time favorite books. 

“People worry what would happen in a world without the Federal Reserve. My answer is that you would enjoy all the privileges of modern economic life without the downside of business cycles, bubbles, inflation, unsustainable trade imbalances, and the explosive growth of government that the Fed has fostered.” ~ Ron Paul, End The Fed

Ron Paul - End The Fed

Ron Paul's End the Fed is a strong critique of the Federal Reserve System that calls for its complete elimination. Published in 2009 during the height of the Great Financial Crisis, the book argues that this crisis was largely caused by the very institution meant to prevent it, at least in Paul's view.

In the book, Paul claims that the Federal Reserve is both corrupt and unconstitutional. He warns that by inflating the currency too quickly, the Fed risks an inflationary depression that could significantly weaken the dollar. He also points out that the Fed's power to control the money supply and set interest rates gives it enormous influence over the economy—an influence he believes harms both financial stability and personal freedom. The Fed’s decisions have led to harmful boom-and-bust cycles, wider wealth gaps, and a steady decline in the dollar’s purchasing power.

A main idea in End the Fed is the need for dependable, “sound” money. Paul supports a system guided by market forces—like the gold standard—which he believes would create a more reliable economic foundation and better protect people’s savings. He also connects the growth of central banks to war, explaining how inflation and weakening currencies have often been used to pay for military conflicts.

End The Fed, by Ron Paul Book Quotes

Abolishing the Federal Reserve would help eliminate wars by removing the government's ability to fund military conflicts through monetary manipulation and inflation. Without the Fed's power to create money, the government would be forced to rely on more transparent means of funding, such as direct taxation, which would face stronger public opposition and scrutiny, making it more difficult to initiate and sustain costly military engagements.

“It is no coincidence that the century of total war coincided with the century of central banking. When governments had to fund their own wars without a paper money machine to rely upon … they found diplomatic solutions to prevent war, and after they started a war they ended it as soon as possible.” ~ Ron Paul, End The Fed


Reasons to End The Fed

“It’s my own view that ending the Fed would address the most vexing problems of politics of our time. It would bring an end to dollar depreciation. It would take away from the government the means to fund its endless wars. It would curb the governments’ attacks on the civil liberties of Americans, stop its vast debt accumulation that will be paid by figure generations, and arrest its massive expansions of the welfare state that has turned us into a nation of dependents.

If you solve the money monopoly problem by ending the Fed, you solve many other problems, too. Essentially you take away from the government the capacity to use financial trickery to expand without limit. It is the first step to restoring constitutional government. Without the Fed, the federal government would have to live within its means. It would still be too big and too intrusive, just like all state governments are today, but the outrageous empire at home and abroad would have to come to an end.
There are other benefits as well, such as stopping the business cycle, ending inflation, building prosperity for all Americans, and putting an end to the corrupt collaboration between government and banks that virtually defines the operations of public policy in the post-meltdown era.” ~ Ron Paul, End The Fed


10 Reasons for Ending the Fed, According to Ron Paul

Ron Paul gives different reasons for abolishing the Fed in this book, but he also categorizes his reasonings into chapters. But instead of summarizing each chapter, I put together a list of 10 reasons Ron Paul believes we should end the fed:

  1. Unconstitutional: Paul argues that the Federal Reserve is not authorized by the Constitution and operates outside its legal boundaries.
  2. Corruption: The Fed is inherently corrupt, serving the interests of banks and powerful politicians rather than the general public.
  3. Inflation: Paul claims the Fed's monetary policies lead to currency depreciation and inflation, eroding the purchasing power of the dollar and ruining people’s savings.
  4. Economic instability: He shows how the Fed's manipulation of interest rates and money supply contributes to boom-and-bust cycles in the economy.
  5. Funding of wars: Paul argues that the Fed's ability to create money enables the government to fund endless wars without direct taxation.
  6. Expansion of the welfare state: The Fed's policies facilitate the growth of government dependence and social programs.
  7. Wealth inequality: Paul suggests that the Fed's actions benefit those closest to the money supply (banks and large corporations) at the expense of ordinary citizens.
  8. Free market principles: Paul believes that the Fed's interventions distort market signals and prevent the free market from functioning properly, hindering genuine economic growth.
  9. Political manipulation: Paul argues that the Fed's policies can be used to influence electoral cycles, corrupting the democratic process.
  10. Obstacle to true prosperity: He believes that the Fed's interventions in the economy prevent the free market from functioning properly, hindering genuine economic growth and prosperity.
Ron Paul, End The Fed Quotes

The Way Out

Paul ends the book with the chapter titled “The Way Out”, in which he explains how to radically overhaul the U.S. monetary system, advocating for the complete abolition of the Federal Reserve. He argues for a return to sound money principles, suggesting the reintroduction of gold and silver as currency and the elimination of legal tender laws to allow currency competition. He believes that removing government control over the money supply and letting market forces determine interest rates would lead to greater economic stability and individual liberty.

Through ending the Fed, Paul claims that the economy would become more stable, inflation would be curbed, and the risk of inflationary depressions would be mitigated, ultimately enhancing individual economic freedom.

“In an ideal world, the Fed would be abolished forthwith and the money stock frozen in place. That doesn’t mean that there would be no more credit; rather, credit would be rooted in money saved, not money created. Congress would remove the Fed’s charter, and the president would stop appointing Fed governors. Its buildings could be used for other purposes, perhaps bought by private banks that would operate as regular businesses. At the same time, the dollar would be reformed so that it again would become redeemable in gold. The federal government’s gold stock could be used to guarantee this convertibility at home and abroad. All remaining powers associated with money could then be transferred to the U.U. Treasury, but now there would be a check on what government did with its power.

The gold standard with no Fed would impose discipline. A new culture would emerge quickly in Washington. There would be a new clarity about the cost of wars and government programs…

While a gold standard would be a wonderful change, we shouldn’t wait for one before we end the Fed. The dollar has a preeminent role in the world economy. It benefits from its long history as a hard money. This will not change in a post-Fed world. The dollar could continue on as it is today, and its value would start to rise once markets were convinced that the money supply would be fixed.

The federal government would finance its operations the way that state governments do today. Note that states do not have miniature central banks and they manage just fine. The money that the state governments spend is taken in by either floating bonds or by taxation. The legislators and executives are on a short leash in every way. They raise or cut spending based on real factors. Also, the bonds issued by states and municipalities are evaluated and priced by the market. They contain a default premium based on their soundness.

Ending the Fed need not be in one bold stroke.” ~ Ron Paul, End The Fed



If you've made it this far, I recommend checking out my book summary of The Creature From Jekyll Island. This book gives a very detailed history of the The Federal Reserve. It explains who was involved and what their motivations were in starting a Federal Reserve Bank, which is neither Federal nor is it a bank.

My Book Summary of The Creature From Jekyll Island
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