Many individuals have shown an affinity toward gold and other precious metals over the years. One of those individuals goes by the name of Alan Greenspan, as he has some interesting opinions on finance in general.

Alan Greenspan and Objectivism

There are many pathways in life which can influence the future of one’s existence. For Alan Greenspan, one pathway of particular influence is called Objectivism. This refers to the philosophy by Ayn Rand, a novelist and philosopher.

As a result of converting to Objectivism – with the help of Nathaniel Branden, an associate of Rand – he became part of the Ayn Rand Collective. That, ultimately, resulted in Greenspan writing articles for Objectivisit newsletters, as well as contributing essays for Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. That book is written by, as you might have guessed, Ayn Rand.

What makes that book of great value is how it supports the gold standard. More specifically, it explained why the gold standard had to be maintained at all costs, rather than abolishing it in favor of central banks and their monetary policies.

Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve

What makes the life of Alan Greenspan even more intriguing is how he worked for the Federal Reserve. Some people, including Harry Binswanger, believed that Greenspan was abandoning his Objectivist and free market principles altogether. 

Believing in a free market and working for the Federal Reserve certainly contradict one another, at least on paper. That said, this was not necessarily the case during Greenspan’s tenure. He did admit that compromises had to be made to determine how society should handle money, however, yet it doesn’t require sacrificing one’s core beliefs.

Even during his tenure at the Federal Reserve, Greenspan remained convinced that central banks are not a requirement by any means. He further reiterated how the world was doing just fine by using the gold standard. 

At the same time, Alan admits that, while dealing with a democratic society, central banks are the best option to appease the  masses. On paper, the concept of a central bank works just fine. When it comes to applying competitive markets, however, things can derail very quickly. 

Alan Greenspan’s Quote for all Generations

It is rather uncommon to see someone with a storied career as Alan Greenfspan to only have one quote. The quote in question will remain valid for some time to come, however. 

“In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value.”

– Alan Greenspan

Especially that latter part of the quote is very interesting for  a lot of different reasons. Many people are looking for ways to safely store their wealth at this time. It is very difficult to do so, albeit precious metals such as gold tend to do rather well during times of increased volatility.