Lawrence White argues that open competition among private firms could provide a monetary system better than that currently provided by state monopolized central banks. White indicates how monetary uncertainty is brought on by cycles of inflation and disinflation inherent in the system. He develops a model showing free banking to ba a stable system for providing money, and critically dissects the view of many economists that government involvement in money and banking is somehow a "natural monopoly" or "public good". Furthermore, White investigates the evolutionary and institutional consequences of laissez-faire in the payments system, exploring the plausibility of a world without money, or a world where all currency pays interest.