This mongrel mix between the classical gold standard and a fiat paper regime was at root unstable and unsustainable.

FORBES: Gold, Reagan and the Reds: From Degraded Dollar to Downgraded Debt

With the outbreak of World War I (1914) the central banks of most major countries abandoned the classical gold standard and began issuing fiat paper money.

FORBES: Gold, Reagan and the Reds: From Degraded Dollar to Downgraded Debt

James Madison, the chief architect of the U.S. Constitution, recognized the problem with discretionary government fiat money and the benefit of a commodity standard and convertibility long ago.

FORBES: The Federal Reserve's Flawed Approach To Monetary Policy

Fiat means by decree, and under the gold standard, a given currency is forced on the population by law, regardless of what anyone desires, needs, or judges to be best.

FORBES: Private Currency Competition Is The Monetary Answer

Although the Bretton-Woods system (1948-1971) was a pseudo-gold-standard manipulated by central banks, it was far superior to the fiat paper regimes seen since 1971, which have contributed so much to the boom-bust cycle, to unprecedented market volatility, over-leveraging, government budget deficits, debt crises, and economic stagnation.

FORBES: Gold, Reagan and the Reds: From Degraded Dollar to Downgraded Debt