The Golden Road Remains Constant
The comments below are an edited and abridged synopsis of an article by Roy Sebag
Sebag discusses a belief that colours all of recent economic history: The judgment that gold is now relegated to its present status as a store of value because payment technology has evolved beyond physical media.
Gold exemplifies the nature and purpose of money. It can serve as money today, not just as savings, but as the sole means of measuring transactions. There are no technical impediments that could prevent a nation from using physical gold to anchor its monetary system, thus restoring an unchanging measure. This can be done with or without redemption rights, and it can be enhanced by historic and contemporary innovations in payment communications. Gold can easily anchor coins, currencies, a swift system, a stock exchange, or a credit card network.
As for any costs associated with a gold standard, they are minimal when compared to the alternatives. The cost of tethering the economy to gold would amount to rounding errors within the overall balance sheet of physical cooperation, because gold is a quantifiable, physical element that exists in nature independently. The natural attributes of gold make it the best material to store, to protect, and to transport in the world. Conversely, any manmade, modern money systems attempting to mimic gold need human cooperation; the result is a frustrating deferral of settlement and an ever-growing pile of broken promises.
Those who argue that gold monetary systems are antiquated relics must reconsider. To anchor a ledger to physical gold requires minimal effort compared to fiat or cryptocurrencies. Governments have ceased to do this for fiscal reasons, rather than because of any limitations intrinsic to gold or any advantages intrinsic to modern money.
The only obstacle between us and a gold monetary standard is the government: It must make the decision to transparently reserve a unit of money in circulation to a weight of gold. This is the truth of the matter, not the truism.
It will only take one nation, one leader, one society to make this decision, one that will profoundly affect its citizens and their relative prosperity, and that will shape the course of geopolitical history. The golden road remains constant. No matter how many alternative roads we choose to build, the golden road can always be taken.