Fiat Capitalism in 3 Stages | Economics Readers Theater Script | Inflation

This 16-scene Reader’s Theater script for grades 6–10 transforms the history of America’s economic system into a dynamic journey from 1944 to 2025, guiding students through the mechanics of fiat money, inflation, and sound money principles.

The opening scenes establish the gold-backed dollar’s stability, as characters like Harry Dexter White and the Banker navigate the Bretton Woods agreement in a bustling conference room. Historical figures like Richard Nixon, Paul Volcker, and Alan Greenspan anchor key moments, illustrating the shift to fiat money, stagflation, and housing bubbles, while the Economist introduces Austrian economics and sound money (gold, Bitcoin) to contrast fiat’s flaws.

Fictional characters like the American Teen, Chicago Waitress, American Gen Z, and Rust Belt Teacher face economic challenges—affordable homes, soaring prices, and unaffordable debt—using concepts like money supply, asset bubbles, and wealth inequality to explore real-world impacts.

(a single PDF with links to Google Docs/Slides, if print format is preferred you can download from your Google Drive to word/pdf/ppt/etc)

What’s Included
• 16-scene script (~3500 words, 12 pages, 19 characters)
• Teacher guide with CCSS alignment, tips, answer keys (10 pages)
• Student worksheet with vocabulary, analysis, discussion (25 Google Slides)

Skills Addressed
• Reading fluency and comprehension
• Economic analysis and critical thinking
• Collaborative discussion
• Historical and real-world application
• Vocabulary acquisition

Worksheet Components
• Short-Answer Basics
• Challenge Questions
• Themes/Discussion: Inflation mechanisms, wealth inequality
• Application: Real-world tasks like budgeting for inflation

Script Summary

• Act I: Early Fiat Capitalism (1944–1971) Harry Dexter White and the Banker establish the Bretton Woods system, tying the dollar to gold ($35 per ounce) for stability, fueling the 1950s suburban boom with $7,000 homes and 4% unemployment. Detroit’s auto workers thrive, earning $2.50/hour, but Vietnam War costs ($168 billion) strain the gold peg, hinting at cracks in the semi-fiat system.
• Act II: Middle Fiat Capitalism (1971–2008) Nixon ends the gold standard, making the dollar fully fiat, leading to 13.5% stagflation by 1980. Volcker’s 20% interest rates tame inflation but spark a recession. Boomers buy $30,000 homes that soar to $100,000 by 1990, while Greenspan’s 1% rates fuel a housing bubble. Subprime mortgages collapse in 2008, foreclosing 10 million homes, widening inequality.
• Act III: Late Fiat Capitalism (2008–2025) Quantitative easing ($4.5 trillion) post-2008 boosts stocks (S&P 500 up 400%) and homes ($412,000 by 2022), benefiting Boomers. Gen Z faces $850,000 homes and $35,000 student debt, with wages stuck at $50,000. Inflation hits 7% in 2022, and the top 1% own 32% of wealth, sparking protests over the generational divide.
• Act IV: Fiat vs. Sound Money (2025) The Economist recaps fiat’s stages, contrasting them with sound money (gold, Bitcoin) per Austrian economics. Weimar Germany’s hyperinflation (bread costing billions) and Zimbabwe’s collapse (89 sextillion percent inflation) show fiat’s risks. Gen Z demands fair money to fix bubbles and inequality, debating centralized control’s flaws.