Specie [gold and silver coin] is the most perfect medium because it will preserve its own level; because, having intrinsic and universal value, it can never die in our hands, and it is the surest resource of reliance in time of war.
Interpretation
Jefferson argues that gold and silver coins are the most reliable form of currency due to their inherent value and stability.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson highlights the enduring value of gold and silver coins as a medium of exchange. He suggests that these precious metals possess intrinsic worth which ensures their stability and reliability, especially in times of crisis such as war. This perspective reflects a broader philosophical approach to economics, where tangible assets are preferred for their ability to maintain value over time, providing security and assurance in uncertain circumstances.
In practice
During a discussion about investments, one might quote Jefferson to emphasize the importance of tangible assets.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
We must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
Liquidity is a good proxy for relative net worth. You can't lie about cash, stocks, and bond values.
It's not a stretch to say the whole financial industry revolves around the compass point of the absolutely safe AAA rating. But the financial crisis happened because AAA ratings stopped being something that had to be earned and turned into something that could be paid for.
Investing is forgoing consumption now in order to have the ability to consume more at a later date.
Our stay-put behavior reflects our view that the stock market serves as a relocation center at which money is moved from the active to the patient.
It is important for investors to understand what they do and don't know. Learn to recognize that you cannot possibly know what is going to happen in the future, and any investment plan that is dependent on accurately forecasting where markets will be next year is doomed to failure.
I believe, in the stock market - that's one of my fields - that most people are irrational. And to be irrational, you can be irrational in so many different ways that, practically, the result is indeterminate.
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