Why Gold Is Still The Best Money

"In a single sentence, President James Madison, the primary author of the US Constitution, summed up why he mandated a gold dollar in Article I Section 10:

The only adequate guarantee for the uniform and stable value of a paper currency is its convertibility into specie [gold] — the least fluctuating and only universal currency.

There’s a lot in here. Madison defines what we want: “a uniform and stable currency.” He explains why gold achieves this: “the least fluctuating and only universal currency.” And lastly, he says that we need an “adequate guarantee.” Some central banker, politician, or wiseguy economist will always promise that, with their oh-so-special wise judgement, or fancy statistical whatnot, they will provide a “uniform and stable currency.” But, it doesn’t work out, does it? It doesn’t work today, and it didn’t work in the time of James Madison either. It never works, not even for a little while. In other words, you need an external benchmark of value to take money out of the hands of wiseguys with big ideas or political agendas — and not just any benchmark, but the best one. Gold is not only an “adequate guarantee” but “the only adequate guarantee.” Only gold (and certainly not Bitcoin) achieves all these goals. That’s why I called it: “The Final Standard.” '

- rest of this column by Nathan K. Lewis at Why Gold Is Still The Best Money | New World Economics