And We All Shine on

Matt Welch | February 19, 2008

Do you care about the gold standard? I sure don't. But for those of you who do, Cato released a new report this month calling it "far from a crazy idea," while The New Republic today is touting a blog post calling it "a terrible idea," based on one interview with a "monetary expert at Harvard." Meanwhile, a trip down Google News will reveal that the phrase these days is almost entirely metaphorical.

Has reason talked about the gold standard over the years? A time or 12, yes. David Weigel pondered the resonance of Ron Paul economics back in October; Brian Doherty interviewed gold-pegger Nathan Lewis last August; Jeff Taylor in 2005 analyzed why Ayn Rand fan Alan Greenspan abandoned his youthful gold-buggery; and Thomas Hazlett talked gold standard (and more) with the one and only F.A. Hayek back in 1977.