Money and gold

Humanity seems to have a deep craving for gold. From ancient times until the present, this yellow-hued precious metal has propelled mankind to great adventures and inspired great exertions of various kinds. Gold was part of the reason that Columbus sailed to America. It was why Pizarro conquered Peru. Discovery of gold inspired the California “gold rush” of 1849 as well a similar event in Alaska in the early 20th century. Yet, gold in itself is less valuable to us in daily life than inexpensive substances such as water or air. Perhaps it is the scarcity of gold that makes it so precious.

Historically, gold and silver have been used as money, units of commercial exchange. People have greater confidence in it than paper money because endless quantities of paper can be printed but there is only a certain supply of gold. Gold has been an anchor of a nation’s money supply.

The dirty little secret is that money is valuable only insofar as people think it is valuable. The idea that money has intrinsic worth is a fiction. Money must be supported by government power or it becomes only a collector’s item. This e-book goes into banking, the Federal Reserve, and other subjects, before leaving its readers with a tantalizing suggestion of how to get government power. GoldParty’s the way.