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Gold and silver are insurance against the government's behavior. Paper issued by the government cannot serve that purpose.

eru 17y ago
Then take paper issued either by a foreign government or by a non-government.
- patrickgzill 17y ago
  Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
  - eru 17y ago
    Don't you trust the Swiss?
    - patrickgzill 17y ago
      The Swiss Franc used to be 100% backed by gold. No longer, they removed backing and convertibility in 1999. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_standard#Gold_as_a_reserve_today http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_standard#Gold_as_a_reserve...
      - eru 17y ago
        Interesting. Though I don't care about gold. Just that they don't inflate their currency too much.
anigbrowl 17y ago
Don't be naive. Sure, if you have a small sum of gold buried in the yard, it can hold its value through times of political uncertainty. But to exercise any meaningful opposition to a despotic government, you need to be rich ( in order to pay people to do your will) or well-organized (in order to urge them via the media). In the former case, you can be taxed - governments levying taxes on the very wealthy usually goes down well with the much poorer majority - and in the latter, you can be declared a subversive and censored. You might find it instructive to examine the history of ancient Rome around the time of Nero and Caligula. If you find history books dry reading, get a copy of 'I, Claudius' which presents the history of that period in narrative form and is both educational and entertaining. This is not to say that opposition to a tyrannical government is hopeless - indeed, history with littered with examples of such leading to revolution. But currency alone is a weak check on a determined oppressor. And (as we are sadly reminded by news from Africa on a regular basis) revolutions often result only in a change of players, but the game remains the same.

eru 17y ago

Then take paper issued either by a foreign government or by a non-government.

patrickgzill 17y ago
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
- eru 17y ago
  Don't you trust the Swiss?
  - patrickgzill 17y ago
    The Swiss Franc used to be 100% backed by gold. No longer, they removed backing and convertibility in 1999. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_standard#Gold_as_a_reserve_today http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_standard#Gold_as_a_reserve...
    - eru 17y ago
      Interesting. Though I don't care about gold. Just that they don't inflate their currency too much.

anigbrowl 17y ago

Don't be naive. Sure, if you have a small sum of gold buried in the yard, it can hold its value through times of political uncertainty. But to exercise any meaningful opposition to a despotic government, you need to be rich ( in order to pay people to do your will) or well-organized (in order to urge them via the media). In the former case, you can be taxed - governments levying taxes on the very wealthy usually goes down well with the much poorer majority - and in the latter, you can be declared a subversive and censored. You might find it instructive to examine the history of ancient Rome around the time of Nero and Caligula. If you find history books dry reading, get a copy of 'I, Claudius' which presents the history of that period in narrative form and is both educational and entertaining. This is not to say that opposition to a tyrannical government is hopeless - indeed, history with littered with examples of such leading to revolution. But currency alone is a weak check on a determined oppressor. And (as we are sadly reminded by news from Africa on a regular basis) revolutions often result only in a change of players, but the game remains the same.