metamitya ·
George Gilder argues that money is fundamentally information — a stable measuring system that communicates economic reality — not a tool of government power.
metamitya ·
His key points:
- Money as information/measuring stick: “Money is the measuring stick… not a magic wand for central banks.” It should be a neutral standard outside what it measures, so prices can convey real signals. He credits Hayek for the idea that “money is information” and “a measuring stick.”
- Information-theory view: Money is the channel that carries information about value. When governments manipulate money (printing, rates), they add “noise” to the channel, distorting the information entrepreneurs need.
- Money is time (tokenized): “In the deepest sense, money is time… tokenized time.” Because time is the ultimate scarce, irreversible resource, sound money must be rooted in time.
- Why gold works: Gold has served as money because the time to extract an incremental ounce is remarkably stable over long periods, making it a good time-based measuring stick.
- Bitcoin vs. ‘digital gold’: He praises Bitcoin’s design but says its hard cap makes it volatile (a speculative asset), so it isn’t yet an ideal measuring stick. He advocates an uncapped, time-rooted “digital gold.”
metamitya ·
Sources:
- Interview (Stansberry Investor Hour, Ep. 218): Gilder explains money as a measuring stick, “money is time,” and credits Hayek for “money is information.” https://stansberryresearch.com/stansberry-investor-hour/fed-insider-the-next-decade-is-going-to-be-a-scramble-for-survival
- The 21st Century Case for Gold (monograph): “Money is the central information utility of the world economy… Money is not chiefly power — it is information… In the deepest sense, money is time.” https://americanprinciplesproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Gilder-21-Century-Gold.pdf
- The Scandal of Money (overview/quotes): https://georgegilder.org/books/the-scandal-of-money/