IN GOLD WE TRUST?

by Matthew Bishop, Michael Green

Overview

In Gold We Trust? uses the surge in the price of gold in recent years as a lens to explore the future of money. The economic crisis has caused a crisis of confidence in the dollar, the euro and all money based on the promises of governments. Gold fundamentalists think we should turn back the clock to a system where money is based on gold. Most mainstream economists think this is madness and expect the current system to muddle along. Both are wrong. We argue that rather than being immutable, money is a technology. And, like all technologies, it evolves as what expect from it changes. In a multipolar world, the global economy cannot be based on the dollar, which represents the wobbly promises of the US Federal Government. Instead, we expect money to evolve into a “portfolio” of monies. Gold, because it is familiar, has been investors' first choice in building their monetary portfolios. It won't be the last. The story of gold is therefore not about a return to past certainties but an indicator of an uncertain, unpredictable future for the technology we call money.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940015560749
Publisher:	Matthew Bishop and Michael Green
Publication date:	10/05/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	88 KB

About the Author

MATTHEW BISHOP is the US Business Editor and New York Bureau Chief of The Economist, and the co-author, with Michael Green, of several acclaimed books, including "Philanthrocapitalism: How Giving Can Save the World" and "The Road From Ruin".

A regular participant in events such as the World Economic Forum and the Clinton Global Initiative, Mr Bishop is in demand around the world as a speaker, and has a growing following on Twitter, where he tweets as @mattbish

MICHAEL GREEN is an economist and author. His books, written with Matthew Bishop, deal with the big economic trends in the world, with a particular interest in how capitalism can better serve people and planet. He was formerly a senior official in the British Government where he worked in aid and development. Prior to that he worked in Poland,teaching economics at Warsaw University and as a freelance journalist. He is a graduate of St Peter's College, University of Oxford. Michael lives in London.