The Case for Gold: A Minority Report of the U.S. Gold Commission

In 1982, Ron Paul served on the U.S. Gold Commission established to evaluate the role of gold in the monetary system. While the commission’s majority recommended no change in policy, Paul and Lewis Lehrman produced this minority report making the case for returning to a gold-backed monetary standard.

The Case for Gold covers the history of gold in the United States, explains that the breakdown of the gold standard was caused by government intervention rather than inherent flaws in the system, and argues for the merit of sound money tied to a commodity. The report was researched with the assistance of a team of economists that included Murray Rothbard.

Published by the Cato Institute, the book remains an important document in the debate over monetary policy and has been cited by advocates of the gold standard and sound money ever since its publication.