/liberty/ - Liberty

why one standard when we had multiple? e.g. pesos de oro, silver standard, bank certificates, etc.

Could we, in theory? Yeah. Is it politically possible to put limits on politicians that are fundamentally sociopathic children addicted to power? Nah.

We can't expect people (voters) with no influence over the political process to educate themselves, it's only natural that people become apathetic to things they can't effect- even if I'm in a plane that's crashing very slowly, if I know with absolute certainty there is no way I can change its course and survive, there's little reason for me to pull out the pilot's manual. I am not saying that you should be hopeless, I am saying we should not expect people to educate themselves on matters that they can not control and "do not effect them."

>>17566

Does fiat currency bother you as much as it bothers me?

It's money based on nothing and historically it has not worked. Reducing the silver in coins made a crisis in ancient Rome. We get the word "salary" from this crisis. The roman legions refused to accept the debased coin and were paid in salt which they could barter.

,, paper currency failed spectacularly in China,, such an epic fail that in the 1500's the Chinese didn't even trust coins anymore and did their business in silver ingots that were constantly tested for purity.

And John Law's fiat currency flaw in France helped sparked the Revolution that overthrew the monarchy.

The continental dollar collapsed in the early American Republic as well.

And then there's the problem of the United States Federal government trying to buy enough gold to back the currency. It would cost an ungodly amount of money. But it would curb inflation.

>>17569

>Does fiat currency bother you as much as it bothers me?

As a libertarian I think that the gold standard is preferable to fiat currency but I do not think it is the best solution in an ideal world.

Those historical circumstances you listed, while entirely correct and useful, occurred before today's technology. As you said yourself, Roman legionnaires preferred to be paid in salt instead of silver-reduced coins. In today's world, it's illegal to use anything but the federally issued currency and the technology exists to track people who try to barter or use different currencies regularly. This could allow for a gold standard, but not for the best solution.

The best solution is to not have a government mandated national currency at all. People should be free to trade and be paid in whatever currency they like. Sure, currency would pop up because it's useful, but that'd remove the risk of government control so it's a win win.

>>17569

>Does fiat currency bother you as much as it bothers me?

It only bothers me because I am forced into using it. In theory, it's not fundamentally evil, it's fundamentally evil because it's forced on people and the cartel that creates allows the controller of the currency to steal through inflation, printing the money, spending it at its current value, and everyone else is fucked when the prices increase but their salaries haven't yet