The monetarymadness coin and logo

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Coinage played a part in spreading the fame of kings and emperors - the more often coins passed through men's hands, and the further afield they were taken by plunder or trade, the more famous they became. Hence the close ties between the monarchies and the monetary system. The joker hat symbolizes the ambiguity of that symbol. Since that same coin and the monetary system were also used to fool the population and trading partners by currency debasement, secretly raising taxes through inflation and currency wars, occasionally leading to a collapse of society and the ruling powers.

This Latin inscription means "The world wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived." Illustrated by the joker hat, money and the money system has often been used to deceive people not understanding the system. Not only present governments practice this. The Romans, to pay for the cost of maintaining their empire, started a debilitating cycle of inflation by expanding the money supply. They accomplished this by 'clipping' bits of gold from the existing coins in circulation and then used the purloined gold flakes to mint new coins. The coins kept getting smaller. History repeats itself.

Coins struck by mints often featured the year it was minted. The date 1971 refers to the “Nixon shock” in August that year when United States President Richard Nixon announced a series of economic measures, in response to increasing inflation, including the unilateral cancellation of the direct international convertibility of the United States dollar to gold rendering the Bretton Woods system inoperative. An event whose consequences are incalculable to this day. This event is a unique example of failure of system design, the reactive nature of governance, how parties can system benefit from failures, the imbalance in power in the system.

Is the Latin translation of the famous quote “Inflate or die” from Richard Russell’s Dow Theory Letters. The world is choking on too much debt that can and will never be paid off. There are two choices, the debt can be reneged on, or it must be inflated away. The least painful method is the one of inflation, but not without far reaching consequences for the global society and not without the risk of a total collapse.

By the time written history began a distinct economic and social classes were in existence, with members of each class occupying a certain place in the organization of work. In ancient Egypt’s society was grouped into in classes that made up a social pyramid, with the pharaoh at the top and peasants at the bottom. In between were government officials, priests, scribes, and artisans. Until today numerous variants of this pyramid have been made like the Russian Nicholas Lokhoff’s social pyramid in 1901 revolting against the social structure prior to the Russian revolution, the poster of the Belgian Labor Party in 1900 and pyramid of the capitalist system in 1911. Many contemporary versions replace monarchs with the financial elites. 

Without an army, Egypt would never have gained an empire. Enemies and imperial duties required a professional army. Hegemonic stability theory states that the international system is more likely to remain stable when a single state is the dominant world power, or hegemon. A superior military force is necessary for the ability to forge new international laws and organizations. But military spending can be non-productive and contributes to reckless government spending combined with excessive money printing by a country’s central bank which can led to the fall of empires.

Emperors are often projected at the top of the social pyramid. Although sometimes this place is dedicated to the gods. In case of Egyptians, Ra, Osiris, and Isis. But as a common phenomenon across the world Egyptians also elevated some human beings to gods. So, leaders with total control of capital, wealth, government and power were sometimes believed to be gods in human form. There has always been a strong relation between emperors like royal families and money. Today’s Royal mints still maintain that relationship.

The bottom of the pyramid is reserved for slaves, laborers, peasants and serfs and refers to the poorest two-thirds of the economic human pyramid, a group of more than four billion people living in abject poverty. More broadly, this refers to a market-based model of economic development that promises to simultaneously alleviate widespread poverty while providing growth and profits for multinational corporations. But monetary policies stimulate inflation that increases poverty unevenly, widening gaps between the poor and the middle class.

“In gold we trust” is nod to “in God we trust” and inscription that can be found in various coins across the world. A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the late 1920s to 1932as well as from 1944 until 1971 when the United States unilaterally terminated convertibility of the US dollar to gold. Many states nonetheless hold substantial gold reserves and central banks have been trading in fiat for gold in their reserves in record quantities. 

Money and the monetary system are forces to be reckoned with in wealth distribution on a from individuals up to nations. It is also an important element in the balance of power between state and citizens and between nations.