The first requisite of a sound monetary system is that it put the least possible power over the quantity or quality of money in the hands of the politicians.

Hazlitt is arguing that monetary stability depends on insulating money from day-to-day political incentives. In his view, elected officials face strong temptations to expand or debase the currency—through inflationary finance, credit manipulation, or legal changes to money’s definition—to fund spending, ease short-term pain, or reward constituencies, often at the expense of long-run purchasing power and economic coordination. The quote reflects a classical-liberal/monetarist concern with rules over discretion: a “sound” system is one where the supply and integrity of money are governed by constraints (institutional, legal, or commodity-based) rather than by political expediency. It also implies skepticism toward discretionary central banking when it is effectively subordinate to fiscal politics.