Inflation seems to be a relatively new thing in economics, only being a major concern since about 1940.
Looking at [this UK Currency graph](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmonevator.com%2Fa-history-of-uk-inflation%2F&psig=AOvVaw2m1_C7lFBlK_s-ePJDySaV&ust=1691140545682000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBAQjRxqFwoTCOCx8s2TwIADFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ) or [this US graph](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50060e33c4aa3dba773634ec/1464789250138-XL20G32RKBAYP87JGP74/image-asset.png), inflation/deflation was not a continuous thing until the modern era.
Is this because of fractional reserve banking, or constant government deficits in both countries? Or both? What changed in economic policy – perhaps the funding required for modern government programs?
Or perhaps this effect isn’t as new as I perceive – at least in the case of the United States. [This graph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/US_Historical_Inflation_Ancient.svg/1200px-US_Historical_Inflation_Ancient.svg.png) shows inflation and deflation to be evident in the past, but they balanced: so why don’t they now?
Surely an idealised society wants very little inflation, maybe around 0.5%, just enough to allow for debt to deflate and ‘incentivise investment’, but nowhere near as much as today’s salary-eroding amounts.
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In the 1500s, Spain brought back so much silver and gold from the New World that it triggered inflation throughout Europe. So it’s definitely been around before. In the past there were ‘panics’ and runs on banks during economic crises.
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