The Aztec priesthood told people the sun would stop rising if the sacrifices stopped. That story manufactured compliance. It also created a political economy of war, because you need a steady supply of victims if the ritual is “necessary.”

Fiatland runs on a similar story. We are told that without perpetual inflation the economy will “stall.” The ritual is not hearts on an altar. It is the steady erosion of everyone’s savings to keep a fragile structure standing.

Under honest money, the natural state of a growing, inventive society is gentle deflation. Productivity makes goods cheaper over time. Your time savings compound. Planning becomes easier. The barista can plan a life. The machinist can raise a family. Technology turns scarcity into abundance and prices reflect it.

Inflation flips those signals. Prices rise even when you get more efficient. The map detaches from the territory. Debt becomes the organizing principle rather than service to real human needs. Those closest to the money spigot gain first. Those furthest away pay with diluted hours. That is the modern version of a tribute system.

The fear narrative is the glue. “If we stop, everything collapses.” In reality what collapses is privilege. Projects that depend on cheap credit instead of real demand clear out. The real economy re-prices itself around service, savings, and productivity. People call that “pain” because it reveals what never made sense to begin with.

So the parallel is simple. A priest class that must keep the ritual going. A population taught to fear the sun not rising. A steady stream of victims, now measured in lost purchasing power instead of lives. And an alternative that looks blasphemous to the temple only because it ends the ritual.

If you want fewer sacrifices, stop believing the story that requires them.

#economics #soundmoney