The gold standard offered a solution to this problem, wherein a single form of money, independent of the control of any single government or authority, was the monetary standard worldwide. Prices could be calibrated against gold and expressed in it, facilitating calculation across borders. The physical heft of gold, however, meant that it had to be centralized and settlement had to be carried out between central banks. Once the gold was centralized, its lure proved irresistible for governments, who took control of it and eventually replaced it with fiat money whose supply they control. Sound
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