What if James Goodfellow, instead of foregoing new shoes, borrowed a different six francs to repair the window and then never paid it back? War has certainly fueled our economy in the past... Also, with the exception of Zimbabwe, the newest instance of inflation mentioned in that entire Wikipedia page was 16 years old. Offhand the only other places I can think of which are hyperinflating right now are in South America, and Venezuela for one is entirely doing this to itself. Are there others I'm missing? I don't want to be too quick to dismiss what Krugman is saying but it does seem a bit unlikely. EDIT: I should note that while I read Bastiat's original words, I also took a look at the Wikipedia page and went on a fascinating tangent about the unlooked-for negative effects of the Cash for Clunkers program.