The Yellow Devil: Gold and Capitalism

246 Pages·1983·5.145 MB·English

by  Andrei Anikin

A.Anikin
THEY ELLOW
DEVIL
·Goladn dC apltall1m .
PROGRESSP UBLISHERS
MOSCOW
Translaftreodm t heR ussiabny K . M. Cook
Designebdy Yu.L yuter
A.A HHKHH
)l(EJIT)J.bbIVI51 BOJI
30JIOTH OK aITHTaJIH3M
Ha aHcAUUCKRO3Mb tKe
© l'fa,LJ;aTeJi«bMCOTJIBOO,LJ;r anHa p,n;1I9r7n8» ,
Englitsrha ntsilaoonf t her evisReuds sni taex©t ProgrePsusb lish1e9r8s 3
Pritnedi nt heU nioonf S oviSeotic aliRsetp ublics
10701-301
A 0140(1)8-3 72-83 0601000000
CONTENTS
Page
I.I ntroductGioolnd.i nt heL ifoef M ankind 5
II.H ow GoldB ecameM oney.· 20
IIIM.i nintgh eY elloMwe tal 36
IV. Whetrhee G oldG oes 64
V. GoldG enocid.e 104
VI.T heP owero fG old. 122
VII.T he GoldS tandaardn dI tsA gony 144
VIIIT.h e InternatiMoonnaelt arSyy stem 170
IX.T he Fateo ft heY elwl oMetal 202
Note.s . 237
I.I NTRODUCTION.
GOLD IN THE LIFEO F MANKIND
Thibso owka s fiprusbtl iisnhR uesdns aitath ee ndo f1 978.
Subseqeuveennhtta svc eo nfirimtersde levtaondcaMeya .n ya
timteh nee wspaopfte hrcesa pitwaolrilhsdat v cea rrhieeadd ­
linsecsr ea"mGionlPgda nic"!G"oR,ldu shI!n"g rapohfgs o ld
prictehsjeg ageldi noent hrei gshutd desnolayru epd almost
atr igahnteg slI.ts oobne came imtpoco hsasritb lotenth heem
samsec ableec,a autst eh bee ginonfi1 n89g0t hmea rkperti ce
ofg olidnL ondoonrN ewY orwka sa lmo2s5tt imheisg her
thainht a d boeneltnye y ne aerasr lier.
Theni,n1 8901-892t,h per iocfge o ld.bfy5e 0lp lec re natn d
waso na veraabgoe4u 0t0 d ollaanor usn cient hfier shta loff
1982T.he m airne aswoasnt hatw aist p ear ioofpd r olonged
ecomniorce ceswshieodnne ,m afnodmr o scto mmoddirtoipepse d
andi nm ancya pitcaoluinstttrh ieewrsae s read ucitnip orno ­
ductainodcn a piitnavle stTmheenssteh. a flrupc tuaitnti hoen s
priocfeg olbdo trhe fleacntde nhantcheei nstaobfit lhiet y
capiteacloinsotm y.
Up to1 791t heo fficpirailoc feg olwda s3 5 dollpaerrs
trooyu nc(e.1 1d ollarg rapme)mr,be u itt c odu bleo btained
legaflrlotymh UeS T raesuartyt hipsr iocnelb yya s ingle pri·
vileged ocfab tueygeorrsy- fmoorneeritygaa nu thoraintdi es
centbraanlkA stt. h atti mteh ipsr idcief foenrlesydl ightly from
thfer emea rkperti actew hicihtw asp urchabsyj ewede lers,
manufacotfue rleercst erqouniipcm aenndrt i,c h inwvheos tors
thouigtphr tu dteoni tn vpeasrtot ft heciarp iitnga olld B.u yers
ofjw eelarnydg olcdo ipnasim do rpee oru nocfeg olodfc, o su:er
thewye rceo vertihncego st of manujfwaeecltarunyrd i ng the
coitnhspe,r oofiftt hmea nufacatnudrr eertsa ialnedvr asr,i ous
taxaensds urchaBrugtte hsde.i ffewraessn tcnieol vtle ry great,
pricbeesii nngt hoer doefr fae wd ozedno llpaerorus n ce.
At the ohfte higego hlrtdu sihnm id-Jan19u8at0r hywe h ole­
salperi wceen utp t o8 40-85d0o llpaerorsu ncaep,p roximately
27d ollaa grrsa mmoefp urgeo lJde.w eldeirndso hta vtei me
toc hantghee p riclea beltsh egiilnri ttsehroiwpni gn dows.
Demawnads vianes xtcloeyfss su pply.
Golwda sn ot ailnto hnsiets o jcbokb inTgh.ep riocfes si lver,
platinum aonftd h peml eattailgnsru omua pl ssoh outpa stro­
nomicaAlnldiy n.t heb ackgrionuflnud,e nbyco etdh feorr ces
ands ubjteooo tt hlearw tsh,pe r iocfeo irlo sset eadSiulcyh.
wast hsei tuaitnwi hoincc ha piteantleirstemhd 1e 9 80s.
Theraer meo riem portthainntign ts h weo rltdh atnh geo ld
rusohfc, o uer.Ts ot akaene xampflreot mh eec onosmpihce re,
thien croeraf saeil nlo iplr iciesms o rsei gniafincdao nfft ra
greactoenrs equence.
Neverthtehleee csosmn,io c( nadp oli)t iicmaplo!rtoafn ce
goldf agirrs e atthearon n weo ultdh ink iftfrsao immr oldye st
andl imistpehde orfei sn dusutsr.eiI atil sa lsion comparably
greattheatrnh aotft hpeh ysico-crheelmamitecetadal llsy- silver
anpdl atinum.
CommoditainedMs o ney
Golodc cupav ieerssy p ecpilaailcn te h vea swto rolfdm odern
commodiTthiipesls a.ic sde e termbiyin tessdp ecsioficcfi uanlc ­
tionhsa.ns otIo tn layl ustarpopuesa rbaunatcl esa,on i llustri­
ouhsi stwoirtyh,wo huitc whe c annuontd ersittasn dp resent­
daryo le.
Sociailnihsemr itaesda neg coolndo pmhiecn omefnroomn
capitaIlnfisasoarmsu . n dseorc iatlhieisrsmbe u yianngds elling
ofc ommodiatnidte hsfe u nctioofmn oinnegy , regtoaliidtn ss
rolhee r,eaa s h ighslpye cciofimcm odwiittyh sepceocmniioacl
ands ocio-psypcrhoopleorTgthiiecdeyais lf. gf reera ftrloytm h e
featuarnedfs u nctoifo nsgi onlc da pitsaolciisTetht iycs.a n
bes eeno nilffyr otmh fea ctth atteh r ecegnotlr du sh, detri­
mentfarlo tmh eec onoamniddc i stastetfhumelo rafplro oimn t
ofv iedwi,dn oatn dc oulndo hta vaen a naliongs yo cialist
countWrei.de osn .op to sstehsseso csitarla otfup mr ivdaetael ­
erss,p eculaantdso trosc k-exgcahmabnlwgehero sc ontitnou e
makmeo neoynt hgeo lrdu sahtt heex peonfst eh owsheoa re
inexperuineinrncmfeeodad,n do ftbeynn o mewaenatslh yB.u t
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golids b oughatn ds olidn s ociacloiusntt rainedsm ,a ny people
seetko p osseistfs o ra varieotfry e asoEnvse.n i fw e accepttha t
thesree asoanrsei rratiaonndan lo ti nk eepiwnigt ht hee ssence
oft hes ociawlaiyso tf l ifwee, m ustt akteh emi ntaoc couanst
ane conomic andr esaolciitayl.
Letu st akae closleoro kat t himse tatlh ahta sa lwayast ­
tractsepde ciaatlt entainodni nterEevsetr.y omnues th aves een
goldM.a nyr eadewrisl lp osseosbsj ecmtasd eo fg oldr:i ngs,
bracelweattsc,h eosrg; o lcdr ownMsa.n yo ft hemw ilplr obably
haves eean goldco inA.t onet imet hescei rculaatsme odn ey,
butn ow theayr ek eptas p reciooubsj ecStosm.e timtehse ya re
ofh istoraincdaa lr tisvtailcua en df ormp arotf n umismactoilc­
lections.
We knowt hatg olids a verye xpensicvoem moditMyo.r e
precistehlayit,t i sh ighvlayl uabilnse m alalm ountAsn.y w eight
uniotf s ilvceors ttse nosf t imelse scso,p petrh ousaonfdt si mes
lesasn,d i rotne nosf t housanodfts i melse sst hang oldA.s
wek nowg,o lidsc allae pdr ceiomuetsa. l
Everyowniel alg reteh agto ldi sb eautiIftuh la.sa n intense
yellowwh ichc ant akeo n differsehnatd edse pendionng t he
quantiatnyd t ypoef a dmixtu(ruessu aslillyv ecro,p penri,c kel
andc ertaoitnh elre svsa luabmleet alsT)h.ev erwyo rdg olidn
Inda-Eurolpaenagnu agiesds e rivferdo mt hew ordf ory ellow.
In particutlhaircs,o ncertnhse S lavonaincd G ermanilca n­
guageisn,c ludEinnggl i(sahl thotuhgerh e latioinssm hoirpeo b­
viouisnG ermanG:o ladn dg e)lFb.r omt imiem memoripaelo ple
havem adea lslo rotfso rnamenatnsdj ewelorfgy o ldS.o metimes
thesaer eo fg reaatr tisvtailcua en di mportacnutl tuarnadlh is­
torimcoanlu mentTsh.ew orldm'uss eumtsr easAunrcei eEngty p­
tiaSnc,y thiaanndT hracigaonl adr ticalnedst ,h ew orko fs killed
mediaevaanld m odernc raftsmTehne. modernj ewelriyn ·
dustrpyr oducmeasn ya rticolfet sh em ostv arieadr tisatnidc
monetavrayl ue.
Godl possesssoemseu niqupeh ysiacnadlc hemicparlo perties.
Itd oesn otru stl ikier ond,o esn otg etc overweidt ha bluish­
greeonx idlei kceo ppearn,d d oesn ote vend arkelni ksei lver.
Goldc oinasn do thearr ticfloeusn idn t heg rounodr u ndewra ­
tero ftelno okas i ft hehya vej uscto meo uto ft hew orkshop
wherteh ewye rem adeT.h isi sw hyg olids c allae nd oblmee tal.
The naturparlo pertoifeg so ldm akei ts uitafbolreu sei n
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certasipnh eroefsi ndustIrthy a.s a cquirtehdif su nctimoani nly
inr ecednetc adeisti: su seidn e lectrosnpiaccste,e chnolaongdy
communications.
Butt hei mportaonfcg eo lid nw orlhdi stoarnyd i nm odern
economiicsds e terminnoetdb yi tuss ei nj ewelmrayn ufacture
ori ni ndustMroyr.e ovewre, s halsle et haitt osr namenutsaeli s
connectneodto nlya ndn ots om uchw ithi tsu self unatural
propertaisew si,t hi tsso cifauln ctione-mtboo dvya luteo,b e
monye.
Ther olpel ayebdym oneyi ns ociedteyp enodnst hes tructure
ofs ocieItnya . c ertasienn steh er everissae l stor uew:h enw e
seeh ow monfeuyn ctiionna s c ertasionc iewtey c,a n juidtgse
naturteh,et y peosf p ropertthyec, h aracotfee rc onomriecl ations
betwepeeno ple.
Thea geosf h umand evelopmdeinftf efrreodm o nea nother,
intearl iian,t het ypoef m oneyt hehya dH.o meriGcr eecdei d
noty eth avmee taclo inasn,d p iecoefsi roann dc oppeorrc attle
serveadsm oneyI.n t hel ascte ntugroyl adn ds ilvceori ncsi r­
culattehdr oughtohuetw orlda,n da lsob anknotwehsi chi n
normaclo nditicoonuslb de e xchangfeodrm etaalt t heifra ce
valueT.o dayi n1 thcea pitacloiusntt rmioense yf ort hem ost
par1tt aktehsef ormof entriienbs a nka ccountsi sua sneddf or
bankt ransfReerasd.ym oney( banknoatnedsc oinosf n on-pre­
cioumse talfso)r mtsh es mallpearr otf t hem oneys upplIyn.
theU SSR moneyt aketsh es ame forbmustt, h es pheroefi ts
operntiisol ni mitaendd s ubordeidnt aott hei nteroefss tosc iety:
noo nec anu sem oneyt ob uyl anda, s harien a ne nterporri se
a blocokffl atsS.o ciaelnitsetr prsiestettslh ee iarc counbtybs a nk
transefxecrl usibvyem leya,n so ft ransfermroinnegyf romo ne
accouinntt heS tatBea nkt oa nothePra.y menbty b ankt ransfer
betweemne mberosf t hep ubliacn ds 'taetnet erpriissb eesi ng
introduTcheedv .a smta jorioft yp aymenmtasd eb y members
oft hep ubliicsd onei nr eadmyo ney( banknootfet sh eS tate
Bankt,r easunroyt easn d smallc hang.e T)h e plannianngd
regulatoifmn ogn eys uppliysa ni mportpaanrtot f s ociaelcios­t
nomipcl ann.i ng
.I tw oulbde c orretcotc alall tlh estey peosf m oneyb,o thi n
the.c apitaalnidsi tnt hes ociaelciosnto mpya, per-mcorneyed.i t
Unlikteh e goorls di lvmeorn eyw hicuhs etdo b ei nc irculation,
ith asn oi ntrinvsailcuT eh.e p urchaspionwge orfa 100-dollar
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or1 00-roubbalnek nobteea rnso r elattioot nh ec osotf i tmsa n­
ufactuTrheis. m oneyi so fa crendaittu rient heb roasde nse
oft hew ordi,n sofaasri ti sb aseodn trusitn t heb odyt hat
issuietsA. n dt hew ordc reidniL att idno easc tuamlelayn t rust.
We haveg rowna ccustomteocd a ltlh imso neyp apemro ney,
althouigtih s b ecomimnogr ea ndm ore" demateriatlaiksiendg" ,
thef ormo fe ntriienbs a nka ccounatnsd m,o rer ecentolfey l,e c­
tronsiicg nailnts h em emoroyf c omputers.
Isg olmdo neyi na sociaelciosnto mEyc?o nomigsitvsde i ffer­
enta nswetrost hiqsu estisoonm,ea ffirmatoitvhee,nr esg ative.
Butt heayl tle ntdo q ualitfhyea nswewri tvha rioruess ervations
ands pecifications.
Inf acitti sb yn om eanosb viofurso md ay-to-edxapye rience.
On theo neh andw,e a rea ccustotmoet dh inokfg olads m oney,
Iti su suatlo t hintkh anto tecsa nc irculoantleby ecautshee y
arei ns omew ayb ackebdyg old.
On theo thehra ndy,o uc annogto i ntao shopw ithg olidn
yourp ursneo,r c any ouu sei tt op ayt her entI.tn eveorc curs
toa nyonteos ayt haat c aro ra televicsoisostnosm anyg rammes
ofg oldA.l lg oodisn tUhSeS R havep riciensS ovierto ubles,
andi nt hsir espegcotl ddo sen otd iffferro ma nyo thecro mmod­
ityI.f a persohnas someg olda ndh en eedmso ney-ordinary
papemro neyh,e m ustfi rsotf a lls elhli sg oldT.a kei tt oa
second-hsahnodpo ,r p awni ti,f t heo wnecrh erishhiesgs r and­
fathewra'tsc oh rg randmothberra'csel aest mae mentoB.u ta
furc oato,ra transirsatdoiroo r,s ilvsepro oncsa na lsboe s old
orp awnedI.s t heraen yd ifferenOcbev?i oustlhye ries G.o ld
diffeirnts h aitt i sh ighly porhtoambolgeen,e aonudsl ong-fast­
ingM.o reoveirtp, o ssesasneost hqeura lihtayr,dt od efinbeu t
reanle verthetlheasotsf :a ge-otlrda dittihoenc ,u stoomf d is­
tinguisihtfi rnogm a lolt hecro mmod�tWiheesn.p eoplwea ntto
ascriab sep ecivaall uteo s omethivnegr balilnRy u ssiatnh,e y
say" whitgeo ldf"o cro ttoorn" blagcokl df"o ori l.
Many Sovieetc onomists smtoundeyyii nns go cialsioscti ety
considtehrag to lhda sp racticlaolsaltly ml o netary funicnt ions
theU SSR.T hep urchasp,oiwnegra nds tabiofli ptayp er-credit
moneyi sb asendo to ng oldb,u to nt hes upployfc ommodities
thaatr ep roducaendd p uti ntcoi rculaftoirto hne,m ostp aratt
state-sfitxaedbp lrei ces.
Thes tateg'osl dr eserpvleasy a certarionl ien m aintaining
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thes tabiolfipt ayp er-crmeodniety b,e caugsoel di si ni tseal f
vervya luabcloem modiwthyi cihs e asirleya liasberdo aIdn.t he
GreaSto viEentc yclopaweed rieaa d":I ns ocialist tchoeu ntries
centrgaoll rde sersveersv mea inlays a reserfvoeri nternational
settlemceonntnse ctweidt he xterneaclo nomriecl ationTsh.e" 1
Sovireotu bhlaes a golcdo ntetnhta its fi xedb yl awO.n 1 Jan­
uary1 961i tw ass eta t0 .9874g1r2a mmeosf p ureg oldP.r e­
viousilthy a db eene quatlo 0 .2221g6r8a mmessi nc1e M arch
1950T.h ei ncreawsaesm adei nc onnectwiiotnha changien
thes caloefp ricewhse,n a lmlo netaurnyi tisnt hen atioencaoln ­
omyw erer ecalculaatta e rda tioof 1 01: (lowerteednt imes)
andn ewb anknotweesr ei ssueTdh.eg olcdo nteonftt her ouble,
likteh eg oldr eserpvlea,y as r eapla rptr imariinlt yh es phere
ofe xterencaoln omriecl atiIotns se.r vaessa basfeo rfi xintgh e-
ratiooft her oublteof oreicgunr renc(ieexsc hanrgaet esT)h.e
lasfitx edr atio (poafrt ihtery o)u blaen dt hed ollabra,s eodn
theg olcdo nteonftb othc urrencwiase s(,f roFme brua1r9y7 3)
74r oubl6e1s kopetcok1 s0 0d ollatrhsa,it s 1, d ollwaars a p­
proximateeqluyat lo 7 5k opecks. Hoswienvcteehr e,nt heg old
conteonft. thdeo llhaars l osatl rle aelc onomsiicg nificaanncde ,
itrsa tien r elattiooo nt hecru rrenchiaescs o nstanftlluyc tuated
on them arketT.h ereftohreea fore-menptairoinotefydt h e
roublaen dt hed olliasru sedn owo nlays a poinotf r eference,
andt her atoef t her oublienr elattioot nh ed olliasrfi xedb y
theS tatBea nko ft heU SSR takiinntgao c coutnhte market
ratoef t hed ollianrr elattiooa n s eotf f oreign currencies.
OtheSro viestp ecialciosntssi dtehra ti nt heU SSR paper­
credmiotn eyi sc onnectweidt hg oldn,ot onlyb ecauosfet he
functioofng olda sw orld mobnueyta, l so becoafiu streso le
inp urely internalp roecceosnTsohemesiy.c believpea petrh­at
credmiotn eyo btaiintpssu rchaspionwge irn r elattiooc no mmod­
itioensl iyn i tcsa paciatsay r epresentoafgt oilvde.
Ther eadewri lplr obaballyr eahdayv eg uesstehda tth ea uthor
oft hivso lumiesc losteotr h ef ormevri ewpoint.
Butw hatevtehred ivergenocfio epsi nioonn t heq uestioofn
ther elatiobnesthwiepge no ladn dp aper-crmeodnietye ,v eryone
isa greetdh agto lpdl ayasn i mportarnotli en t hef oreiegcno ­
nomics pherpea,r ticuliantr hleyr elatioofnt sh eU SSR with
capitacloiusntt riTehsi.sr oldee rivferso mt hef actth att he
USSRi sa majogro ld-prodcuocuinntgAr sye .a rlays1 912 Lenin
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