[tylerdurden]

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Arguments about social phenomena should be grounded in empirical evidence, most of which is going to be historical.

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OK, so where's the evidence that a free market in money will fail in a modern global economy?

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Beforehand you stated that we had not had "true capitalist economies" because all economies were marked by government intervention. I was merely pointing out that this has never been part of the accepted definition of capitalism. If you want to get serious about arguing about these things, you have to be using concepts in a clear way. Usually this means adhering to some semblance of the definitions that have been in common currency among social thinkers for generations. If you want to redefine "capitalism" in your own way, go ahead, but its rather counter-productive.

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Where is this definition that includes government intervention?

Wikipedia: "In common usage capitalism refers to an economic system in which all or most of the "means of production" are privately owned and operated and where investment and the production, distribution and prices of commodities (goods and services) are determined mainly in a free market, rather than by the state."

Houghton Mifflin: "An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market."

Neither of these "contemporary" definitions indicate a needed component of state intervention.

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I still want to see your empirical evidence and full argument for the contemporary viability of a system of exchange beyond the level of local economies that is not government sponsored or supported. Please don't dodge the question any longer.

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So your position is that since a true free market in money has never been alowed to operate unhindered in the contemporary global economy, it's automatically a laughable idea?

I'm not dodging any question, you're just moving the goal posts. You wanted an example of a free market currency in action, I provided one, then you want more. The fact is that gold has been used as an currency for international trade for centuries, long before any government figured out how to pull shenanigans to steal from people without their knowing it.