What does deflationist mean?
A deflationist is someone who advocates deflation — a sustained fall in the general price level — or who regards deflation as benign or even beneficial. The term arose in debates over monetary policy, particularly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when disputes over gold, silver, and paper currency split economists and politicians into camps of inflationists, who wanted to expand the money supply, and deflationists, who favored contracting it to preserve the value of money and protect creditors and savers. Today the word appears mainly in economic history and commentary on monetary policy, where it is often applied by critics to those urging austerity or tight money. In philosophy, "deflationist" has an entirely separate sense, naming adherents of the deflationary theory of truth, which holds that the predicate "is true" adds no substantive property to a statement. In both fields the term functions as a label for a distinctive intellectual position rather than a neutral description.
nounA person who believes in or advocates deflation, especially a reduction in the general level of prices or the money supply; also, an adherent of a deflationary theory, such as the deflationary theory of truth in philosophy.
- A person who advocates deflation or holds that deflation is economically beneficial.
- An adherent of a deflationary theory, especially the deflationary (redundancy) theory of truth in philosophy.
"As a committed deflationist, she argued that falling prices would restore purchasing power to ordinary savers."
"The nineteenth-century deflationists believed that returning to the gold standard would discipline prices and protect savers."
"As a deflationist about truth, he claimed that saying 'it is true that snow is white' amounts to nothing more than saying that snow is white."
Standard plural; used when referring to multiple holders of the position, e.g. schools or camps of thinkers.
"The gold-standard deflationists dominated the committee's early hearings."
While most economists fear falling prices, the deflationist welcomes them — making it one of economics' most contrarian labels.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of deflationist
Deflationist is formed from "deflation," which combines the Latin prefix de- (down, away) with flare (to blow), via English "deflate" — literally to let air out, figuratively to shrink or reduce. The suffix -ist marks a person who holds or advocates the doctrine. The word emerged in English during the monetary controversies of the nineteenth century, alongside its counterpart "inflationist." It shares its root with inflate, inflation, deflate, and related words such as flavorless descendants like conflate (blow together) and effervescent-related forms from the same Latin verb family.
Related word forms
How deflationist is actually used
Most often encountered in economic and monetary-history writing; in philosophy, "deflationist" is standard terminology for proponents of deflationary accounts of truth. The label is frequently used by opponents and can carry a slightly pejorative edge in economic debate. The adjective "deflationist" is also used attributively, as in "a deflationist reading of the truth predicate."
Easily confused with deflationist
"Deflationist" is a noun for a person holding such views, while "deflationary" is an adjective describing something that causes or relates to deflation.