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Tracing lust for gold through the ages
By Ni Tao |
October 30, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
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THE story of gold is as old as the history of man. Ever since this glittering metal was discovered, mined and transformed into money, the attraction it holds for humanity has survived every vicissitude.
Peter Bernstein's book "The Power of Gold" traces man's lust for gold to the dawn of humanity and shines a light on the nature of this perpetual obsession.
The author argues that the lure of gold is much more than a fetish. It reflects man's complex relationship with wealth and sometimes attempts by alchemists to secure the longevity the metal was once said to signify.
"When gold is regarded as life everlasting, it drives people to death," Bernstein says.
The common physical forms of gold we now see include bullion, ingots and jewelry. The fine craftsmanship required to make them often belies the story of exploitations and atrocities involved in acquiring and mining the metal itself.
Contrary to the textbook knowledge we received in our teens is Bernstein's argument that the expeditions of great sea-faring explorers were by no means so epochal or civilized.
Instead, they dealt a ruinous blow to the New World and opened a chapter of bloody conquest and pillage in human history.
Spanish conquistador Pizarro's capture in 1532 of the last Inca king, who was executed despite having paid the ransom with all his empire's gold, is a notorious illustration of the greed, perfidy and wickedness in the acquisition of the metal.
The search for gold involved more systemic brutalities when the gold rush began in the US state of California in 1848, leading to a boom in the slave trade that sent more slaves to mine gold, the author notes.
"The gold at the end of the rainbow is ultimate happiness, but the gold at the bottom of the mine emerges from hell," he observes.
While the gold powder extracted from underground shafts is often stained with proverbial or real blood, it doesn't generate wealth on its own.
"Gold as an end in itself is meaningless. Hoarding does not create wealth. Gold and its surrogates make sense only as a means to an end: to beautify, to adorn, to exchange for what we need and really want," says Bernstein.
The gold plundered from the New World at first did little more than fill the private vaults of European monarchs or adorn their person. It did not become an icon of wealth until its emergence as a form of payment.
In ancient China, silver minted into tael formed the building blocks of its monetary system, though gold enamored ordinary minds as a superior form of fortune.
Before Chiang Kai-shek's defeated Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, Chiang had ordered the move to the island of all the gold inside the exchequer.
Contrary to popular belief, the move was simply intended to stabilize the monetary system.
For a long time the belief that gold is the best hedge in times of volatility has induced the Chinese to stockpile it for rainy days.
Reuters reported on October 4 that the world's wealthiest people have responded to economic worries by buying gold by the bar - and sometimes by the ton.
Chinese consumers are apparently taking the lead in snapping up gold. The latest gold rush coincided with the government's avowed goal of further depressing property prices.
The obsession with gold lives on.
Peter Bernstein's book "The Power of Gold" traces man's lust for gold to the dawn of humanity and shines a light on the nature of this perpetual obsession.
The author argues that the lure of gold is much more than a fetish. It reflects man's complex relationship with wealth and sometimes attempts by alchemists to secure the longevity the metal was once said to signify.
"When gold is regarded as life everlasting, it drives people to death," Bernstein says.
The common physical forms of gold we now see include bullion, ingots and jewelry. The fine craftsmanship required to make them often belies the story of exploitations and atrocities involved in acquiring and mining the metal itself.
Contrary to the textbook knowledge we received in our teens is Bernstein's argument that the expeditions of great sea-faring explorers were by no means so epochal or civilized.
Instead, they dealt a ruinous blow to the New World and opened a chapter of bloody conquest and pillage in human history.
Spanish conquistador Pizarro's capture in 1532 of the last Inca king, who was executed despite having paid the ransom with all his empire's gold, is a notorious illustration of the greed, perfidy and wickedness in the acquisition of the metal.
The search for gold involved more systemic brutalities when the gold rush began in the US state of California in 1848, leading to a boom in the slave trade that sent more slaves to mine gold, the author notes.
"The gold at the end of the rainbow is ultimate happiness, but the gold at the bottom of the mine emerges from hell," he observes.
While the gold powder extracted from underground shafts is often stained with proverbial or real blood, it doesn't generate wealth on its own.
"Gold as an end in itself is meaningless. Hoarding does not create wealth. Gold and its surrogates make sense only as a means to an end: to beautify, to adorn, to exchange for what we need and really want," says Bernstein.
The gold plundered from the New World at first did little more than fill the private vaults of European monarchs or adorn their person. It did not become an icon of wealth until its emergence as a form of payment.
In ancient China, silver minted into tael formed the building blocks of its monetary system, though gold enamored ordinary minds as a superior form of fortune.
Before Chiang Kai-shek's defeated Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, Chiang had ordered the move to the island of all the gold inside the exchequer.
Contrary to popular belief, the move was simply intended to stabilize the monetary system.
For a long time the belief that gold is the best hedge in times of volatility has induced the Chinese to stockpile it for rainy days.
Reuters reported on October 4 that the world's wealthiest people have responded to economic worries by buying gold by the bar - and sometimes by the ton.
Chinese consumers are apparently taking the lead in snapping up gold. The latest gold rush coincided with the government's avowed goal of further depressing property prices.
The obsession with gold lives on.
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