Why Should Westeros Have a Central Bank?

Adam Ozimek at Forbes has an article asking Why doesn't Westeros have a central bank? The article makes it clear that Ozimek believes a central bank to be a good thing, but he does not provide any reasons why. There is just an assumption that a central bank is a good thing, that the world of Game of Thrones would be better off with one.

Most laughable is the claim that the central bank is dedicated to the public good. In a utopian world, perhaps one could find a central bank that was dedicated to the public good, but in the real world, they are dedicated to the government and to cronies. Perhaps Ozimek ought to familiarize himself with Public Choice theory. Then he would dispel any notions of the public good being served.

Dickens' Love of Money

Few truly understand the degree to which Dickens was pro-market. He rather quickly learned to become an astute businessman, and he became quiet wealthy as a result.

Too many falsely interpret his criticism of the institutions of his day as being anti-market. However, being critical of government-run institutions and the way businesses were being run (all too often with government protection and subsidies) in no way makes one anti-market. And I think there is little doubt Dickens favored free markets. He says so himself, and his descriptions of markets are simply beautiful. Certainly just because someone is critical of particular aspects of something, that does not mean you oppose the thing itself. It is like saying that because someone doesn't like the work of O'Neill that they hate theater.