Written up with some distain but great interest in the New York Times Magazine. Says Stephen Metcalf:
"To a small but extremely avid subculture in the American financial community, gold doesn't mean bling, or King Midas, or them thar hills. Gold is money; and not just money, but the one true money. The gold subculture divides along several lines -- some of its members are gold speculators, some gold hoarders, some gold philosophers and some outright nut jobs -- but it unites behind a single idea: Paper money issued by governments, when not redeemable for actual gold, is fraudulent. Most of us accept the existence of dollar bills unconsciously. To the gold faithful, however, a dollar bill is 'ink money,' or better yet, 'fiat currency,' a nearly constant term of abuse at gold conferences and in gold chat rooms."
Read the rest, and thanks to June Morrall for the link.
