Economics

All of the following is just my take on it and, since I am not an economist, it may be utter nonsense. All "economics" is simply a trade. Each side trades in such a way that they feel like they came out slightly ahead or at least even. Relative values fluctuate. One conch shell will vary in relative value compared to one rabbit. In years or places where rabbits are scarce, it may take many conch shells to trade for a rabbit and make the rabbit owner feel OK about the trade. If, on the other hand, you are far from the sea shore and you really want a conch shell to make a musical instrument or some jewelry from, you might be willing to trade several rabbits for one shell. In most areas dirt or rocks will not be worth much in trade value because it is easy to simply bend over and pick some up. Gold and silver retain good trade value because they are not abundant anywhere, they are pretty and shiny, they are useful for making jewelry and electronics, and they are just about universally recognized as having value. US dollars, also known as Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs) are getting more and more common as the "money supply" gets increased. A dollar is no longer tied to a set amount of silver or gold to establish a true value. The Federal Reserve can print as many of the paper notes as they want, without having anything of value to back them up. This makes the relative value of FRNs go down. So you must trade more FRNs for what you want to have. Many people blame the stores for this and the government calls it "inflation". All it really is is the principle of fair trades that has always been around. You must trade more and more FRNs to get a fair trade for the person with the actual product. No, an ounce of gold or silver will not always buy the exact same number of rabbits or conch shells. Relative values will still fluctuate, depending on the supply or need for each. But you are not at the mercy of someone, somewhere, deciding to mix up a huge batch of gold in the kitchen to trade for your rare conch shell. If that were the case, gold would soon be as worthless as slips of paper with green printing.