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The Fiat Standard

By: Saifedean Ammous
Narrated by: Saifedean Ammous, Guy Swann
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Publisher's Summary

In The Fiat Standard, world-renowned economist Saifedean Ammous applies his unique analytical lens to the fiat monetary system, explaining it as a feat of engineering and technology just as he did for bitcoin in his global best seller The Bitcoin Standard.

This time, Ammous delves into the world's earlier shift from the gold standard to today's system of government-backed fiat money—outlining the fiat standard's purposes and failures; deriving the wider economic, political, and social implications of its use; and examining how bitcoin will affect it over time.

With penetrating insight, Ammous analyzes global political currencies by analogy to bitcoin: how they're "mined" whenever government-guaranteed entities create loans, their lack of inherent restraints on inflation, and the rampant government intervention that has resulted in heavy, devastating, and persistent distortions to global markets for food, fuel, science, and education.

Through these comparisons, Ammous demonstrates that bitcoin could be our next step forward—providing high salability across space, just like the fiat system, but without the unchecked fiat-denominated debt. Rather than a messy hyperinflationary collapse, the rise of bitcoin could look like a debt jubilee and an orderly upgrade to the world's monetary operating system, revolutionizing global capital and energy markets.

©2021 Saifedean Ammous (P)2022 Saifedean Ammous

What listeners say about The Fiat Standard

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Disappointing

The book started off well enough - with a decent overview of fiat currency, its history and general architecture. The use of the cryptocurrency analogy is an interesting way in which to describe how fiat works, particularly when comparing against gold-backed currency.
However as the narrative progresses the author’s objectivity gives way to what is clearly a personal agenda, devolving into something resembling a conspiracy theory. Any credibility established in the first few chapters is compromised by a series of speculative associations presented as fact, with little to no real supporting evidence.
This becomes particularly apparent in the “Fiat Food” chapter, where I decided to stop listening.

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4 people found this helpful

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  • Ben
  • 31-01-2024

Brilliant analysis of the pernicious effects of fiat currency

I thought this would be a repeat of the half of The Bitcoin Standard that dealt with fist currency. But it goes further than that by analysing fiat currency's impacts on food and energy production, for example.

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Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

After reading this book you will never thinking about money and society the same way. It’s like seeing behind the curtain.

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As good as The Bitcoin Standard

I loved the first book, giving me an insight into the history of money. But at the end I still had questions, as to how Bitcoin could maybe take over from fiat. This book does a great job of explaining fiat and it’s problems and how Bitcoin will inevitably be the choice of best money.

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Learnt so much

An excellent education in fiat money and how Bitcoin can solve its many issues and empower us to move beyond debt slavery.

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Biased by the author's dietary preferences

as a Bitcoiner, I highly recommend to skip the Fiat food part as it is clearly written in a biased way with unsubstantiated claims and no scientific facts or references,
And oh my, his tone is unbearable to listen, full of anger
the economics part is true and good as it is his area.
Saifedean Ammous needs to learn to stick to economics which is the area of his expertise. he believes that there is no difference between plastics floating in the ocean and piece of natural wood !!!!( not in the book, his books and interviews)
he is a bad influence for Bitcoin adoption!

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A great book

A brilliant follow up to The Bitcoin Standard
I suggest listening to that one first, then the fiat standard second.

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