Gold: Metal without intrinsic value
This article is about gold mined from the earth, not the gold present in the earth. The intrinsic value of gold in our society is zero, even though all people on this planet firmly believe that it is valuable. In this context, two types of value are relevant: vital value and technological value. The vital value refers to the vital human needs. These needs are: water, food, clothing, footwear, shelter, and medical care. Technological value refers to the use of the material in question in various technologies. The vital value of gold is zero, because you can't drink it, you can't eat it, you don't need it to make clothes and shoes, you don't need it to build shelters, and you can't cure diseases with it. The technological value of gold is also zero because this material is not essential in our society and can always be replaced by another material. Consequently, the use value of gold is zero. This is the short version explaining why gold has no use value. But let's look at these statements in detail.
Before we get into the actual topic, we must first of all clarify another very important point, namely the difference between value and price. Almost all people in the world, even renowned economists, confuse value with price. The confusion of value and price always leads to very serious errors in the conclusion. Therefore, we must first find a clarifying answer to the following question: If gold has no value, why does it have such a high price?
The highest fineness of gold is 24 carat. On 28.06.2021, one gram of gold cost 46.70 euros. To understand why gold costs a lot, although it is worthless, we must first know what price means. Economic books claim that price is the value of the commodity. This is not correct because the value of the commodity cannot be measured. The value of the commodity cannot be measured because there is no instrument to determine the value of the commodity. The price is formed in the market according to supply and demand. Demand minus supply is scarcity. Scarcity is also called deficit. The greater the scarcity of the commodity, the higher the price. The smaller the scarcity, the lower the price. Consequently, the price is only an indicator of the scarcity of commodities. It is not the value of the commodity in question. Since people strongly believe that gold has a high value, the demand for gold in the market is high and thus the deficit is also large. Since the deficit is large, the price is also correspondingly high. Consequently, gold has a high price because market demand is high and not because gold would be valuable. When people realize that gold is worthless, market demand will decrease, causing the gold deficit to be smaller and thus the price to be lower. When the deficit is zero, that is, when demand is equal to or less than supply, the market price of gold is zero.
Note: The value of the commodity is not the same as its price. Air, for example, has a very high vital value, because without air a human dies in a few minutes. Despite the fact that air has a very high vital value, it is free because the scarcity of air is zero and if the scarcity of a commodity is zero, then its price is also zero. In other words, air is free because it is abundant and not because it is not valuable.
But now let's get to the topic and analyze the value of gold.
Gold is indeed used in many fields of activity. It is used in gastronomy, medicine, architecture, dentistry, computer technology, medal, coin, jewelry, art, glass, trophy, jewelry, gold leaf production and surface gilding. Despite the fact that gold is used in many fields, we will see below that it is not used because of a real need, but because of the desire to make money profit from the belief that this metal would be of great value.
50% of all the gold in the world is used for the production of jewelry. 40% of the total gold in the world is used for investment: Gold coins, gold bars and gold in its original state. 10% of the total gold in the world is used in industry. From this statistic, we can draw valuable conclusions to better understand the value of gold.
So, 50% of the world's gold is used to make jewelry. This jewelry is considered valuable only because the gold it contains is considered valuable. Once people understand that gold is not a valuable metal, this jewelry will have about the same value as any other jewelry not made of gold. It should also be pointed out that jewelry has no use value, only aesthetic value, as people use jewelry to emphasize or pretend a certain social status. The aesthetic value is a subjective value and not objective at all. Underlining social status with jewelry does not increase the quality of life. Quite the contrary! Possessing jewelry decreases the quality of life because you have to be careful that it is not stolen. Jewelry theft usually results in injury or even death to the person stolen. Consequently, owning jewelry means taking on worries and risks, and thus owning jewelry does not increase the quality of life. It follows that gold can have no intrinsic value by the fact that jewelry can be made from it. Jewelry does not increase the quality of life and can be made from many other materials. In this case, gold has approximately the same value as the other materials from which jewelry can be made. However, if we take into account that the extraction of gold involves enormous effort and destruction, then gold is not worth even one thousandth of the value of the other materials from which jewelry can be made. If gold is used to make jewelry, that is, to make things of an aesthetic nature and not to make things that are really useful, then you can immediately see that gold cannot be valuable, because a valuable material is always used economically and only where it brings maximum benefit. In this case, the value of gold is zero.
40% of all gold in the world is used for investment. It is invested in: Gold coins, gold bars and gold in its natural state. People invest in gold because they strongly believe that it would be a valuable metal. This further leads to the belief that it would be a store of value. If people understand that gold has no value in our society, they will also understand that it cannot be a store of value because it has no value. The only means of long-term store of value on our planet is land. Land is the long-term store of value because only land can sustain life. All the riches that man needs are obtained out of the earth or from the earth. Here I must make a small clarification, because there are also the riches that we receive from the sun, namely its light and heat, from which we can obtain electricity. To be precise, wind energy is actually also solar energy, because wind is generated by solar heat. In order to generate electricity, however, you need an area on which you can place your solar panels and/or wind turbines. As you can see, also in this case the earth is important and necessary. Also in this case the value of gold is zero, because it is not a store of value.
Only 10% of the world's gold is needed in industry. This is a much smaller percentage than in the two cases above. In the following, however, we will see that in all cases where gold is used in industry, it can be replaced by other materials, i.e. gold is not needed. Consequently, there is no need for gold in industry either. As you can see, gold has no real intrinsic value, only an illusory one.
But let's take a closer look.
Gold has been declared a food additive in the European Union and is labeled E175 in the Codex Alimentarius. Gold is used to decorate desserts, confectionery, chocolate, honey and various soft drinks and spirits to give the impression that these foods are of higher value. The use of gold as a food additive and for food decoration is controversial. There is even a presumption that gold ions are toxic. In addition, gold is an allergenic metal. In 2,001, gold was nominated as Allergen of the Year by the American Contact Dermatitis Society. The addition of gold to food is not necessarily beneficial, nor is it essential. When gold is used in food decoration and as a food additive, although it is an allergenic material, then it is immediately obvious that gold cannot be valuable, because a valuable material is always used sparingly and only where it brings maximum benefit. Gold also has no value in the field of food.
Gold is used in dentistry to make dental crowns, dental bridges, orthodontic appliances and to fill tooth holes. However, gold has many disadvantages in dentistry. It makes teeth sensitive because it conducts heat, cold and pressure more than other materials. When gold is placed near an amalgam filling, a reaction between the two materials called galvanic shock can occur, causing pain and increased salivation. Gold fillings are very difficult to fit. Gold dental crowns are visible, which is why some people find them unsightly. Gold can be replaced with porcelain and ceramic in dentistry. In dentistry, it is safe to say that gold is roughly equivalent to porcelain and ceramic. When we take into account the fact that gold has disadvantages when used in dentistry, however, we can say that gold is less valuable than porcelain and ceramics. Consequently, gold has no real value here either.
Gold is also used in the electronics industry as it is used in low voltage electronic devices. It is used in connectors, switches, solder joints and wire connections. Gold is used in very small amounts in: cell phones, computers, pocket computers, GPS receivers and other small electronic devices. The gold from electronic devices can often be replaced with other metals, such as copper, or recycled. The amount of gold used in the electronics industry is very small per device. If we take into account that gold can be replaced by other materials in the electronics industry, we can say that it has a value approximately equal to that of the materials with which it can be replaced. For example, gold can have the same value as copper. If we take into account the enormous effort, energy and destruction involved in extracting gold, the value of gold is not even one thousandth of the value of the other materials that can replace gold. Consequently, gold has no value in the electronics industry either.
Gold is sometimes used in very small quantities in medicine. It is believed that in certain combinations it can cure rheumatoid arthritis. It is assumed that the radioactive gold isotope implanted into the tissue can be used to treat cancer. These assumptions are hard to believe, however, because we all know that scholastic medicine cannot cure diseases because it is based on profit-making and therefore must produce diseases in order to have patients and thus make the necessary profits. Instead of using gold to cure diseases, it is much more effective to turn to alternative natural medicine. Consequently, there is no need for gold in this case either, since the medical value of gold is zero.
Gold is also used to make gold medals, which are awarded to the winning athletes in sporting competitions. The use of gold in the manufacture of medals does not add any value to gold, since medals can always be made from any other material. The value of gold in this case is equal to the value of the other materials from which sports medals can be made. If we take into account the immense effort and destruction involved in extracting gold, then the value of gold is not even one thousandth of the value of the other materials that can be used to make sports medals. Consequently, again, there is no reason to say that gold has any use value.
Gold is also used in the manufacture of glass to give it a ruby color. This gold can always be replaced by other materials that produce this color, or the production of ruby glass can be dispensed with. Consequently, gold has no real utility value in this case either.
Gold is also used to gild interior or exterior surfaces of buildings. It is also used to gild the domes of religious temples. In this case, gold has only an aesthetic value and is therefore not essential. In this case, it can be said that the value of gold is equal to the value of paints and similar materials. Considering the immense effort and destruction involved in gold extraction, the value of gold in this case is not even one thousandth of the value of paints and other materials that could be used in its place. When gold is used for the interior or exterior gilding of buildings and for the gilding of domes, then one can immediately see that gold cannot be valuable, because a valuable material is always used sparingly and only where it brings maximum benefit. Consequently, gold has no real use value here either.
Moreover, it should be known that gold mining is one of the most destructive forms of mining. It generates huge amounts of toxic waste and causes mercury poisoning called hydrargyrim or mercurialism. Gold mining destroys the landscape and pollutes rivers with sulfuric acid. The damage caused by gold mining usually lasts for generations. Gold mining is difficult and dangerous work. Millions of miners are exploited. Their wages are low. Mine work causes illness, injury and death. An estimated 600,000 children are put to work in these mines worldwide. For most communities, the disadvantages of gold mining far outweigh the benefits. As a result, communities fall victim to poverty, crime, and the threat of destruction to their indigenous culture. Gold mining pollutes water, air, and soil. The production of a single gold ring generates 20 tons of toxic waste. Consequently, gold mining is not beneficial.
There is something else to know about the value of gold. There is a view that an economy based on gold-backed money would be more stable and function better than the current economy, which is an economy based on fiat money made of paper or polymers. Such an economy would function better because gold would give value to money. It is true that an economy in which money is backed by gold would function better and more efficiently than an economy based on fiat money, which is not backed by gold. An economy based on gold-backed money would work better, not because gold gives value to money, but because gold cannot be manipulated as easily as paper money or polymer money. Gold is extremely difficult to find and mine, it is difficult to separate from ore, and it is not always found in the desired quantity. Gold-backed money is therefore not as easy to manipulate as fiat money, so the economy run on gold-backed money is more stable and efficient than the economy run on fiat money. This is the real reason why the economy run with gold-backed money works better than the economy run with fiat money. Consequently, the alleged value of gold does not matter here either. Gold has no intrinsic value in our society.
Note: Everything that exists in nature has value and meaning. Consequently, gold also has value and meaning, but only in a certain situation, namely when it is in the earth in its original state, because, among other things, it contributes to the fertility of the soil. Fertile soil can be recognized by the fact that it contains small organisms such as archaea, bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, algae, protozoa and a diverse soil fauna such as springtails, nematodes, earthworms, ants and insects that spend all or part of their lives underground. It is scientifically confirmed that the earth's crust is charged with electricity, and the emerging science that deals with human grounding claims that this electricity has a positive effect on humans, so it also has a positive effect on underground life. Grounding means connecting the body directly to the earth by walking barefoot, sitting or placing the body on the ground. Gold has the ability of electrical conductivity and can transfer electricity from the earth to underground life, which contributes to the creation and maintenance of life forms in the earth, which in turn leads to greater soil fertility. Since gold is very resistant to corrosive substances, it can therefore help fertilize the soil for a very long time.
Author: Mihail Ispan