⚡ The Tax You Never See
Most forms of theft are obvious: a hand in your pocket, a ledger gone missing, or a door kicked in.
But some of the greatest transfers of wealth in history haven’t looked like theft at all.
They’ve looked like policy. Stability. Even progress.
They happen quietly—through the coins in your pocket, the prices on the shelf, the value of your time.
And by the time you notice, it’s already too late.
This is how power has moved value for centuries. Not by force—but by dilution.
👑 France, 1300s: Power Without Permission
In the early 14th century, King Philip IV of France was cornered.
He was fighting wars on three fronts—against England, in Flanders, and even against the Pope. These weren’t squabbles. They were existential fights for land, loyalty, and legacy.
He’d already squeezed the Church and taxed the nobility. Pressing the common people any harder risked revolt. And yet, he needed to pay soldiers, buy loyalty, and keep the machine of war turning.
So he pulled a different lever. One that wouldn’t draw blood—or attention.
He debased the coinage.
Instead of minting 100 silver deniers from a pound of silver, he ordered the mints to strike 120. The coins looked the same—same size, same shine, same king’s face. But per coin, the silver content had quietly dropped.
To the eye, nothing changed.
To the economy, everything did.
With this one move, Philip gave himself 20% more money to spend overnight. There was no vote, no backlash, just freshly minted purchasing power.
He paid his armies. Rewarded allies. Stabilized the palace.
And at first, it worked.
Markets grew lively, merchants moved products, and coins flowed. From Paris to the provinces, people felt flush.
But the goods hadn’t multiplied. There weren’t more sheep, bricks, or sacks of flour. There was just more money competing for the same things.
And that meant prices started rising.