A growing crescendo of commentary places the blame for the current surge in US inflation squarely on the Federal Reserve. But much of the criticism is stupefyingly naive about the political pressures the Fed and other central banks around the world have had to navigate in recent years.

In the US, pressures on the Fed reached a peak when the Democrats, eager to put progressive ideas into practice, took control of the White House and Congress in January 2021. Yes, the Fed has significant independence in many dimensions, but it does not enjoy nearly the same institutional independence as, say, the European Central Bank.

Project Syndicate