We've gotten sidetracked somewhere. I replied to this:

>but we decided it's 2.5"x6" paper with ink on it.

It was clearly referring to USD, not whatever the David Graeber of the IWW was saying happened 5000 years ago while talking about "everyday communism."

Since ~1792 up until, depending on when you want to argue, some time in the 20th century USD was backed by or defined by gold or silver.

Price stability has gone down the toilet since the 70s when the government defaulted on its gold backing. Prices were remarkably more stable under the gold standard. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50060e33c4aa3d...

As for gold standard an 50 years or some such (IDK about those numbers, but lets take in on face for a moment), sure but it was a direct drop in for silver standard which lasted "from the Sumerians c. 3000 BC until 1873." [0] The idea there was a precious metals backing, not that the PM has to necessarily be gold.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_standard

It’s about the fallacy of putting our faith into something as simple as a piece of paper, or a stamped piece of metal, or a bead on a string.