Gold prices can be volatile
The argument for a gold standard is simple: it stops the ravages of political interference with the currency. A dollar was worth the same in 1933 as it had been a century earlier, with $20.67 buying one ounce of gold. The example almost every supporter of gold comes up with is that at the start of the 19th century an ounce of gold would buy a very nice men’s suit, as it would at the end of the century; it still will.
There’s no doubt that doing away with paper money stops politicians abusing it, printing money to fund their favourite spending schemes and, in extreme cases, destroying the currency and the economy altogether. Read more
James Mackintosh is the Financial Times' Investment Editor, writing and presenting the daily Short View column and video. In 16 years at the FT his posts have included comment editor, motor industry editor and hedge funds correspondent, as well as spells in the Parliamentary lobby and Paris. He was the first reporter hired for FT.com, joining two weeks before it launched.
John Authers is the Financial Times' Senior Investment Columnist, writing the Saturday Long View and a regular Monday column. In a 22-year career at the FT, his previous posts have included global head of the Lex column, investment editor, US markets editor, Mexico City bureau chief and US banking correspondent. His latest book is The Fearful Rise of Markets. 