In addition, there are various measures a government or a central bank can take to stop or at least slow down escalating inflation. If there was a sudden loss of confidence in BitCoin (or more realistically, people lost confidence in other people’s confidence in BitCoin), such hyperinflation would spread and escalate with the speed of light with nothing to stop it. This kind of volatility might be interesting for speculative investment purposes but not incredibly useful as currency.
Then again, it’s entirely possible that we will be proven wrong.
I'm not sure how to answer that question. An answer would either be horribly generic or extremely long (or both). I suggest you start reading some history books (or just start on Wikipedia).
Basically, a full bitcoin economy is a bit like an economy on a gold standard. Not perfectly, since gold is still being mined, and the rate of mining depends on its price.
Then again, it’s entirely possible that we will be proven wrong.