As many Conspirators know, Stephen Smith has a great gift for explaining free markets and defending liberty. At his website, he has just posted a good piece on a "gold standard", and it is a great way to introduce neophytes to the principles that support the argument in favor of specie currency. Stephen doesn't concentrate a great deal on private banking here -- which would naturally orient itself towards a medium of exchange that resisted inflationary pressures, but he does mention it, and shows how the US government has destroyed the buying power of our money by moving away from a tie to gold. One can't expect any government to keep such an adherence, because the mechanism of gubment is such that the temptation will always exist, allowing it to fund itself at the expense of our buying power and that of our kids. Check out Stephen's article when you can!

http://abeginnersguidetofreedom.blogspot.com/2008/11/demystifying-gold-s...