> It is a terrible idea for a civilization that exists in a system with finite resources to use a currency that is unbounded and exponential. The disconnect between the nominal economic substrate and raw reality will lead to broad class theft and environmental destruction.

Well, this is certainly a different argument than "1850-early 1900s is a great example of the benefits of the gold standard"

> 1. For class theft, don't just take my word for it, take Paul Krugman's

Or, take his word on why the gold standard is a bad idea? (written before the EU was a thing)

"Why not emulate our great-grandfathers and tie our currencies to gold? Very few economists think this would be a good idea. The argument against it is one of pragmatism, not principle. First, a gold standard would have all the disadvantages of any system of rigidly fixed exchange rates--and even economists who are enthusiastic about a common European currency generally think that fixing the European currency to the dollar or yen would be going too far. Second, and crucially, gold is not a stable standard when measured in terms of other goods and services. On the contrary, it is a commodity whose price is constantly buffeted by shifts in supply and demand that have nothing to do with the needs of the world economy..."

> As for environmental destruction, surely you can see how putting society on a compounding treadmill of devaluation encourages consumption as a driver of economic growth (if we fail to post a positive growth number, we WILL have at least a transient economic crisis), and it's patently evident that we buy more, shittier things that need to be replaced, because there is diminished opportunity cost for saving your money to buy something better and more robust: but hey, it's good for circular flow.

I agree that inflation can drive part of the problem in the constant pursuit of growth and profit at the expense of the environment. The problem is that moving to a gold backed currency wouldn't change any of that. We know this because the regulations introduced by the EPA in 1970, just as the US moved completely off the gold standard, are the reason that the US has cleaner air and water. Along with the fact that corporations externalized the environmental costs of our consumption habits to Southeast Asia. None of that would be different if the US had stayed on the gold standard.

> Or, maybe you like environmental destruction and screwing the poor. If you do, you should probably say that up front, instead of hiding it behind difficult-to-unpack-ese like Krugman does.

Ignoring the mild annoyance of this insinuation, it remains completely ridiculous. What was the life expectancy in the height of the gold standard? What is it now? What countries are the most carbon neutral, the most environmentally sound, and have the highest standard of living? Are they using a fiat currency system?

The difference is in policy. Most of the EU is beating the US on every metric for the average person because of their laws. Individuals in those countries have rights to food, shelter, healthcare, and education, and because those governments are legitimate and relatively uncorrupted, those rights are not only recognized but realized. Having the ability to build homes, schools, and hospitals without having to dig gold out of the ground first is part of the reason why they are able to do it.

> in the small, probably cryptocurrencies (which burn to make CO2) are better than mining, which dumps mercury effluent into the environment, and maybe there will even be efficient cryptocurrencies that burn up less CO2.

Finally, we can agree. Gold makes about as much sense as cryptocurrency. When used as a mechanism to try and restrict the money supply for a given economy, they complicate the situation with zero benefits for the economy or the environment.

> But all are better than, say, an economic system that has the unboundedness property AND is propped up by paying off defense contractors that build depleted uranium tipped rounds that are dropped on civilians halfway around the world.

Please elaborate on how the gold standard would eliminate the problems of the military industrial complex and American imperialism.