> Sure. But gold, and diamonds and other pretty shiney things only have as much value as we place on them, the same as paper money.

Whenever I come across the argument that we return to a gold-backed economy, this is among one of the first things that comes to mind. Gold is worth so much because it's considered a precious metal and has numerous uses in industry. But besides the extensive history of its worth throughout the ages (which probably maps well to its chemical attributes, such as malleability), there's nothing that suggests it won't eventually become worthless if civilization values something else (salt, platinum, clean drinking water).

I used to think I was a little crazy whenever I'd have such an argument with my inner monologue, but now that I see the same point raised by others, I'm not so sure.

Maybe I still am crazy.