The Natural Order of Money Hardcover – 12 Dec. 2022

In today's world where common sense is under attack, it is refreshing to read a book that is not only well reasoned, but provides a practical, time-honoured solution to many of the problems that plague modern society. There exists a natural order based on the interdependent components of time and energy, and societal problems mount up the further humanity moves away from it."The Natural Order of Money" is a welcome wake-up call explaining humanity's inextricable link to the natural world. Despite prevailing convention that we have become masters of the universe and legislators with absolute control, it is important to remember that human activity is always and everywhere ultimately tethered to and depends upon nature and the natural order. Though we may wish or even believe the contrary, the reality is that humanity is reliant upon and inextricably linked to the regularities, vagaries, and scarcity of the natural world that extends beyond the elements of the periodic table to food and energy from the farmers, miners, and energy producers of the real economy, all of whom work within the natural world and upon whom the service economy depends.The consequence of this fundamental connection that exists between humanity and the natural world is an “ecological accountability”. It is my favourite of the seven defined terms analysed in-depth as core components of the book’s line of reasoning from which we can conclude that the real and service economies are today out of balance. A particularly insightful section addresses the parasitic feature of a service economy that has come to dominate the real economy in a vain attempt by the service economy’s participants to master nature, rather than accept and abide by the natural order. This harmful inversion is facilitated by believing money to be a concept rather than a physical object. It is a misguided notion that creates the illusions of prosperity and strips nature beyond its natural regenerative capabilities, one of the book’s many insights that no doubt will be of keen interest to everyone concerned about environmental degradation. But there is much more in this treatise on the natural order.For example, there is the examination of voluntary human cooperation as recorded in Sumerian and Babylonian law, which explains a system of natural laws governing human interaction in a cooperative way that enables progress by achieving higher standards of living and the advancement of society. The purpose of the law was to simply record the natural money system that already existed and being used. From this law of the ancients we learn how they created an equitable monetary system with a level playing field for all participants in the economy, which stands in stark contrast to what prevails today as evidenced by the glaring disparity in wealth distribution. Nor can nature be tinkered with to obtain nominal GDP growth, which explains much of the environmental damage we are witnessing today."The Natural Order of Money" deserves attention from a wide audience willing to unlearn many of the fallacies and much of the misguided thinking prevalent today. By delving into first principles to analyse the differences and links between the real and service economies – which is the totality of human activity and effort – we gain meaningful insights into voluntary human cooperation and its relationship to the natural order. More importantly, it provides a wonderful explanation of how money is inextricably linked to the natural order, which is something not often taught in universities these days or well understood by political leaders, or indeed, the general population suffering from the consequences of inflation and other policies harmful to them and the environment."The Natural Order of Money" offers a complete debunking of the State theory of money by explaining how money is not an artefact of the State or something that is only useful because of enforcement by State power. Money is not a human-made invention outside of the natural order. Because economic activity is based in the first instance on the individual as a producer and consumer regardless of the State or other entities, money emerges from nature and is used by humanity just like other natural elements and their compounds are used – to enable individuals to improve their situation by which standards of living advance.More to the point, money is a unit of weight that in pre-history became a unit of account useful in economic calculation as primitive humans learned that voluntary cooperation through the division of labour helped them to improve their life by better meeting their needs and wants. We learn why gold is natural money, and why only it provides an objective standard to measure progress and bind the wider economy to the real economy so that all economic activity is measured equitably and in conformity with the natural order."The Natural Order of Money" is a beautifully produced book that fittingly conveys its principal topics – the beauty of nature, humanity’s place within it, and the harmony offered to everyone when abiding with the natural order.For full disclosure, Roy Sebag is a friend and the Chief Executive of the company I founded in 2001, goldmoney.com, for which I remain a director. There is no investment advice offered because the book was written for the same reason that I have written books and numerous articles – to provide educational background and insights useful to understanding and answering today’s many problems.

Starting from a foundational analysis of humans' relationship to nature, time and one another, this book builds step by step to make a compelling argument that only if money is tangibly rooted to the 'real economy' can it be societally and ecologically sustainable.Sebag offers an intriguing, thought-provoking and alternative way of looking at the nature of the economy and considering what the causes and conditions are of a just and truly flourishing economic order, as opposed to one plagued by the inflation, lack of opportunity and price shocks that are currently all too evident. His analysis of the role of the farmer as a building block of the economy seemed to me particularly apt in light of the disruption to grain and other resources caused by the invasion of Ukraine.Of particular enjoyment were the appendixes to this book and the analysis to be found there of the ancient mechanisms of exchange in the Hebrew Bible and the Code of Hammurabi.This work offers a philosophically rich and penetrating model of what the economy is and what it might be. Written in concise and elegant prose, it is an enjoyable read that is insightful whilst remaining comprehensible. The book is, in addition, a welcome addition to the bookcase for its physical beauty (and remarkably inexpensive as a hardback).In many ways this book is 'sui generis' in its originality of methodology and perspective. It certainly repays reading, and I expect that I will ponder its contents and revisit its pages for a long time to come.

Received the book and got reading straight away.Really reccomend giving this a read. It does give you a perspective and insight on the economy and how aspect such as gold, is natural money and will guarantee ecological accountability and long-term profitability.I’ve never read a book like this but it is something I would pick up again, as it was very educational.

If you're looking for a book to get better understanding of what money is, the history of it and the role of it in today's society, then I definitely recommend this book. It highlights the key points of how the economic system became what we known it to be today. It's a great read.

Roy Sebag’s take on the history behind our modern economy and what the future of our economic system should be was a very interesting read. Despite being a short read, it definitely wasn’t lacking; the book was concise yet insightful, and will be a topic I plan to research and discuss more.

That should qualify as an article not a book 80 pages @ pocket size ^_^

It was a page turner and written in a style that the reader can relate to easily

It's a short but deep read. A great discussion on the fundamentals of economy and money.

Autor com excelentes credenciais. Livro bem redigido, objetivo e prático. Recomendo.

This is a much needed work, and it is a brilliant work – one can intuit the thought, contemplation, research, experience and inner-direction actually required for its creation, this despite its deceptive approach in seemingly examining such “common” things – farming, mining, minerals, exchange of goods, natural scarcity, real economy, service economy – but the reexamination of these elemental features of the natural world weaves a profound new (but equally, an ancient) understanding. Why so needed? Because in our society – our culture and financial system – the divorce from the natural order is severe, endemic, and disastrous. And the deleterious effects – the inequity, the poverty, the loss of farms, the heavily distorted overweighting of the service economy, the destruction of the real economy, inordinate concentrations of wealth – is all reflected and enabled via our unwise, modern concept of “money.” “Money is the mirror of ecological accountability in any society,” Sebag notes, speaking of this critical concept: what is “money”? Achieving the understanding of this statement is why this book is a must.The book does not mention cryptos, Bitcoin, the profound reasons for the Constitutional framers’ creation of Article 10 declaring gold and silver the only Constitutional money, the deep problems of the rumored-to-be-coming CBDCs. The implications become obvious on reading and comprehending the book. It is concerning, per my experience (but an index of our current mis-informed state), that crypto enthusiasts have no grasp of the concepts embodied in this work – what is required for a currency to be truly reflective of the natural order, to be, shall we say, ecologically valid, thus sustaining that order and therefore the wealth of all, not just the few. Again, this book is, for all, a very needed meditation.

Hier werden wilde Gedanken zusammengeschrieben, ohne sich gross mit Belegen zu plagen. Die Definition von Entropie ist komplett unphysikalisch, das gibt der Autor sogar selber zu.Zusammenfassung: nur Gold ist echtes Geld, das heutige System ist nicht fair.Wer das bisher nicht gewusst hat, der wird dieses Buch gar nicht verstehen. Andere werden sich bestätigt fühlen und kriegen zu einigen plausiblen Gründen für Gold noch ein paar VooDoo Argumente dazu.Unbefangen ist der Autor, ein Investor in Minen, auch nicht.

For me: this book solidified the J. P. Morgan quote "Gold is money. Everything else is credit.".A deeper philisophical book for sure. It has stimulated my mind and provided new growth to my vision of the world around us.The book itself was presented beautifully. Lovely paper, dust cover and even a tassel. It's been a joy to unwrap, hold and read.Thank you Roy.