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Gold isn't really wealth any more than paper money is. Consider Spain, which looted S America of gold and silver. How did that work out for Spain? Spain had lot

Gold isn't really wealth any more than paper money is. Consider Spain, which looted S America of gold and silver. How did that work out for Spain? Spain had lots of inflation as a result, and didn't get any wealthier. The same thing happened with both the California and Yukon gold rushes. The same thing happens when the government prints lots of money. What creates wealth? People creating goods and services that people want to buy. Things like making planes, trains, and automobiles. Making hamburgers. Making search engines. And so. P.S. I always laugh at Jackson's Smaug who has a hoard of gold amped up to 11^11. It was so large it was beyond absurd. If even a portion of it was dumped into the Middle Earth economy, it would promptly become worthless.

shrubble 2y ago
Spain had a literal Golden Age (not referencing current politics)
- WalterBright 2y ago
  Indeed they did literally have a lot of gold. But their economy remained unproductive and poor.
DeathArrow 2y ago
>Gold isn't really wealth any more than paper money is. Any scarce resource people want is worth very much. Be it gold or bitcoin. You can't make gold (technically you can by transmuting elements but it will cost you more gold than the gold you will produce) but you can mine it with great cost. Why do you think Amazon warehouse workers are payed less than Amazon coders? Because it's easier to find a warehouse worker than a coder. What something is "worth" is dictated by the market. Which means it is dictated by the laws of supply and demand. If we're both on a secluded island and you have 10 tons of gold and I have one hundred kilos of potatoes, my potatoes are worth more. If we're both in NY City, my potatoes are almost worthless and you are incredibly rich.
- WalterBright 2y ago
  As Spain discovered, when gold is used as money, and the supply of gold increases, the value of gold drops accordingly (i.e. inflation). As you said, the law of supply and demand. Looting S America of gold did not make Spain wealthy.

shrubble 2y ago

Spain had a literal Golden Age (not referencing current politics)

WalterBright 2y ago
Indeed they did literally have a lot of gold. But their economy remained unproductive and poor.

DeathArrow 2y ago

>Gold isn't really wealth any more than paper money is. Any scarce resource people want is worth very much. Be it gold or bitcoin. You can't make gold (technically you can by transmuting elements but it will cost you more gold than the gold you will produce) but you can mine it with great cost. Why do you think Amazon warehouse workers are payed less than Amazon coders? Because it's easier to find a warehouse worker than a coder. What something is "worth" is dictated by the market. Which means it is dictated by the laws of supply and demand. If we're both on a secluded island and you have 10 tons of gold and I have one hundred kilos of potatoes, my potatoes are worth more. If we're both in NY City, my potatoes are almost worthless and you are incredibly rich.

WalterBright 2y ago
As Spain discovered, when gold is used as money, and the supply of gold increases, the value of gold drops accordingly (i.e. inflation). As you said, the law of supply and demand. Looting S America of gold did not make Spain wealthy.