# The Gold Standard Won't Be Coming Back **URL:** **By** George Selgin, Trevor Burrus, Aaron Ross Powell **Published:** December 23, 2016 --- George Selgin joins us for a discussion about the gold standard. Is there any chance of the country returning to the gold standard? George Selgin joins us for a discussion about the gold standard. How did America get off the gold standard, and is there any chance of the country returning to it? Would it be a good idea to revive the standard? Why gold in particular and not any other commodity? Is gold less valuable as money than in other applications, like electronics manufacturing? **Show Notes and Further Reading** Trevor asks whether people in Venezuela have started switching to Bitcoin, since Venezuela's own currency is falling apart. According to [this article from Jim Epstein in next month's issue of _Reason,_ that's exactly what they're doing](http://reason.com/archives/2016/11/28/the-secret-dangerous-world-of) .