"Therefore allows the government do choose the least damaging path by inflating prices instead of allowing widespread destruction of human life and capital goods. The printing press can be an instrument of higher living standards, at least on a relative/comparative basis" I disagree. However you have baked in so many assumptions and conclusions in this statement that it is difficult to argue with.
What you rather have, inflation or nazis running your country. Thats my bottom line. Sure, raise taxes and borrow but if there are problems with those, run the printing press, take away the independence of the central bank and print at will. However austrians cant get themselves to admit this basic reality due being mostly a cult of mises and fed bashing
"What you rather have, inflation or nazis running your country." See that is the thing: you are creating a hypothetical false alternative and then asking the person you are debating to, "make a choice". I disagree with the nature of the way you are framing the issue and the choices you offer. Regardless, you might want to research economic conditions in Germany before WWII before using this trade off as an example of the benefits of inflation. Germany suffered an inflationary holocaust before they had an actual holocaust.