The 5th Empire - Money

Without the state to dictate what constitutes money, people will be free to choose whatever money they prefer. The 5th Empire have no rules for this. It is up to its citizens to choose. Gold has been used as money for millennia, and is therefore the most likely candidate. For small purchases, there will be privately issued coins and bank notes. There will also be electronic transactions. Everything will be as it is today. The only difference will be that currency will be redeemable in specie from currency providers.

This is the system we had during the classical gold standard, and it still exists as a private alternative to the current system. There are companies offering gold backed currencies, complete with electronic transfer protocols.

In addition to gold, there are crypto-currencies. There is nothing to stop a 5th Empire citizens from using crypto. However, crypto is technology, and as such a bad store of value. Technology rarely survive more than a few decades before being replaced. Furthermore, crypto derives much of its appeal from its supposed ability to circumvent government regulations. We can therefore expect crypto to loose value should government power decline.

Gold on the other hand is a luxury metal used for jewellery. This has been its function since the dawn of civilization. It is so widely recognized as valuable that the words gold and golden are synonymous with wealth and prosperity. Gold is hardly likely to suddenly loose all its value.

The gold standard of the 5th Empire is most likely going to be based on metric weights. Ten milligrams of gold will typically buy us a cup of coffee. A gram of gold gets us a pair of trousers. Two kilogram of gold buys us a flat. A tonne of gold buys us a large share of a major company.

Money

By Eucratides I / BnF - This image comes from Gallica Digital Library and is available under the digital ID btv1b8510709q, Public Domain, Link