by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The world-wide banking crisis and recession-cum-depression of 2008/2009 has renewed the world's central banks interest in gold as something to back their currencies with, it would appear.
A number of those banks have, in recent month, been buying tons of gold, literally, and the price on the market has gone from swinging between $500-$700 in recent years to well over $1100 a fine ounce.
While I am no banker and financial wizard this interest in gold could also, once again, lead to a renewed interest in silver as a currency foundation and, if they be clever, even as a metal from which to strike their currency.
Paper currencies are a waste of time, unless they are just tokens and backed with gold and/or silver, or are alternative money, such as the various ones that exist. Even then striking such alternative currencies in metal would be better such as silver, but even copper for the smaller denominations is something better than paper.
The world needs to get back to something that means something and it would appear that in some places that is happening. It is pushing the price of gold sky high though and could do a similar thing to silver.
In the main, it would be good, however, to return to some means of barter trade again for doing business, like some of those alternative currencies that are in use in many localities, in Britain and elsewhere. That way trade also stays local and may just also be affordable.
We must return to an economy where people matter in line with the “small is beautiful” concept put forward by E F Schumacher in his book by the title “Small is Beautiful”.
It can be done and must be done if the world is to have a chance, and that in more than just one aspect.
© 2010
