The Gold Standard: When Money Meant Something

In his classic 1962 book Capitalism and Freedom, Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman argues that a society cannot maintain political freedom without a robust commitment to free-market capitalism—and that for capitalism to function best, it must be free of government interference. It is hard to overstate the extent to which Friedman’s once-controversial ideas have triumphed. Over the past 40 years, governments across the world have moved to market-based solutions by reducing marginal tax rates, eliminating tariffs, privatizing public monopolies, and introducing choice in public education. Some might disagree about the effects of Friedman’s ideas—but no one can deny their influence.

Economics is the study of how we allocate resources—food, clothing, money, time, effort, and knowledge. Economists begin this study by examining incentives: the driving forces behind our decisions. By understanding how we respond to incentives and the psychological instincts that steer us, we can better understand how market forces work and how governments and firms can use incentives to foster a healthy economy.

In Naked Economics, bestselling author Charles Wheelan strips away the complexity from some of the most powerful theories in economics, allowing readers with little or no background in the subject to understand many of the field’s fundamental concepts. He concentrates on the logical pieces of how and why people behave in certain ways, how markets function, and how governments can design incentive systems that encourage healthy economies.

In The Bitcoin Standard, economics professor Saifedean Ammous suggests that bitcoin has the potential to become a new international monetary standard, similar to the gold standard of the 1800s. But the Bitcoin Standard would be superior to the gold standard in a number of ways because the properties of bitcoin make it—at least potentially—a superior form of money to gold, while also solving many of the problems with the fiat currencies that countries have been using since they got off the gold standard. In this guide, we’ll describe Ammous’s vision for a global Bitcoin Standard and look at how close we might be to implementing it. We’ll also compare Ammous’s perspective to that of other thinkers, such as Edward Griffin and Milton Friedman.

In his classic 1962 book Capitalism and Freedom, Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman argues that a society cannot maintain political freedom without a robust commitment to free-market capitalism—and that for capitalism to function best, it must be free of government interference. It is hard to overstate the extent to which Friedman’s once-controversial ideas have triumphed. Over the past 40 years, governments across the world have moved to market-based solutions by reducing marginal tax rates, eliminating tariffs, privatizing public monopolies, and introducing choice in public education. Some might disagree about the effects of Friedman’s ideas—but no one can deny their influence.

In The Silk Roads, historian Peter Frankopan identifies Central and Western Asia as the crossroads of human civilization, the birthplace of the world’s major religions, the battleground where the great empires of history rose and fell, and the garden from which today’s global economy first sprouted. He argues that understanding the East is crucial to our understanding of the world—particularly for Westerners who have lost this global perspective.

In ancient times, trade routes known as the Silk Roads first brought European merchants to the luxury markets of the East, enabling the flow of both material goods and ideas from East to West. According to Frankopan, the Silk Roads have always been history’s crucial connection point, spreading not just luxury goods like silk and spices, but also technology, religion, languages, cultures, ideologies, and even conflicts and diseases. In this guide, we explore Frankopan’s history of the Silk Roads, while also incorporating insights and feedback from other scholars to supplement his analysis.

Economics is the study of how we allocate resources—food, clothing, money, time, effort, and knowledge. Economists begin this study by examining incentives: the driving forces behind our decisions. By understanding how we respond to incentives and the psychological instincts that steer us, we can better understand how market forces work and how governments and firms can use incentives to foster a healthy economy.

In Naked Economics, bestselling author Charles Wheelan strips away the complexity from some of the most powerful theories in economics, allowing readers with little or no background in the subject to understand many of the field’s fundamental concepts. He concentrates on the logical pieces of how and why people behave in certain ways, how markets function, and how governments can design incentive systems that encourage healthy economies.

In his classic 1962 book Capitalism and Freedom, Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman argues that a society cannot maintain political freedom without a robust commitment to free-market capitalism—and that for capitalism to function best, it must be free of government interference. It is hard to overstate the extent to which Friedman’s once-controversial ideas have triumphed. Over the past 40 years, governments across the world have moved to market-based solutions by reducing marginal tax rates, eliminating tariffs, privatizing public monopolies, and introducing choice in public education. Some might disagree about the effects of Friedman’s ideas—but no one can deny their influence.

Have you ever wondered how the economy works - how millions of individuals can buy and sell goods and services without a master coordinator? Have you wondered why we use money, rather than bartering our services with each other? Why do some nations prosper, while others stay poor despite vast natural resources?

Basic Economics by Stanford economist Thomas Sowell is an incredibly useful, broad introduction to economics. Containing no math, it instead communicates intuitive principles that will help you understand how market transactions work and the effect of policies on the economy. Understand how prices for goods are set, why rent control has bad side effects, and the purpose of brand names.

While Jekyll Island might sound like something out of horror fiction, the island is a real place—and popular resort—in the state of Georgia. But author Edward Griffin argues that it was also the birthplace of a horrifying finance cartel disguised as a government agency: the Federal Reserve System. Griffin believes the Fed destabilizes the economy and encourages banks to engage in fraudulent practices that harm the general public and benefit elite financiers.

In our guide to The Creature from Jekyll Island, we’ll consider Griffin’s theories about the conspiracy of financiers that he says created—and continues to control—the Federal Reserve. Then we’ll review his criticism of how the Federal Reserve actually operates and his arguments that it’s detrimental to regular citizens. Finally, we’ll consider Griffin’s proposed solution to the problems he identifies. Throughout, we’ll compare Griffin’s perspective with the perspectives of economists like Thomas Sowell (Basic Economics), Saifedean Ammous (The Bitcoin Standard), and Henry Hazlitt (Economics in One Lesson).

In his classic 1962 book Capitalism and Freedom, Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman argues that a society cannot maintain political freedom without a robust commitment to free-market capitalism—and that for capitalism to function best, it must be free of government interference. It is hard to overstate the extent to which Friedman’s once-controversial ideas have triumphed. Over the past 40 years, governments across the world have moved to market-based solutions by reducing marginal tax rates, eliminating tariffs, privatizing public monopolies, and introducing choice in public education. Some might disagree about the effects of Friedman’s ideas—but no one can deny their influence.

While Jekyll Island might sound like something out of horror fiction, the island is a real place—and popular resort—in the state of Georgia. But author Edward Griffin argues that it was also the birthplace of a horrifying finance cartel disguised as a government agency: the Federal Reserve System. Griffin believes the Fed destabilizes the economy and encourages banks to engage in fraudulent practices that harm the general public and benefit elite financiers.

In our guide to The Creature from Jekyll Island, we’ll consider Griffin’s theories about the conspiracy of financiers that he says created—and continues to control—the Federal Reserve. Then we’ll review his criticism of how the Federal Reserve actually operates and his arguments that it’s detrimental to regular citizens. Finally, we’ll consider Griffin’s proposed solution to the problems he identifies. Throughout, we’ll compare Griffin’s perspective with the perspectives of economists like Thomas Sowell (Basic Economics), Saifedean Ammous (The Bitcoin Standard), and Henry Hazlitt (Economics in One Lesson).

In The Bitcoin Standard, economics professor Saifedean Ammous suggests that bitcoin has the potential to become a new international monetary standard, similar to the gold standard of the 1800s. But the Bitcoin Standard would be superior to the gold standard in a number of ways because the properties of bitcoin make it—at least potentially—a superior form of money to gold, while also solving many of the problems with the fiat currencies that countries have been using since they got off the gold standard. In this guide, we’ll describe Ammous’s vision for a global Bitcoin Standard and look at how close we might be to implementing it. We’ll also compare Ammous’s perspective to that of other thinkers, such as Edward Griffin and Milton Friedman.