Originally Posted by
JDNSW
Just to move off the concentration on the US political scene -
Any money, whether it is metal or paper or plastic, is worth exactly as much (or little) as people think it is. Historically, societies as they moved from barter gradually to the concept of money, usually adopted something that was durable, and fairly rare (so you could get a lot of value, without a lot to lug around), which for most societies meant some sort of metal....................................
In the aftermath of WW1 this was more or less abandoned, with few exceptions, but a few countries tried it again during the Great Depression, and intermittently since.
But the point is, money is worth what people think it is, and commodities, including gold, have a value that depends on supply and demand, nothing else. There is nothing magic about gold, just it is durable, and rare, so that a lot of value can be concentrated in a small package.
