Dear Ron
Thanks for writing this article. This kind of knowledge does need to be redisseminated more within our profession.
But i do want to point out an error you made, which is so common whenever people attribute that thought to Keynes.
Keynes did not say that 'gold' was a barbarous relic. What he said or actually wrote in 1924 (in his 'Monetary Reform book, p172) is: “In truth, the gold standard is already a barbarous relic.”
So it is the gold 'standard' and not gold itself that he suggested was a barbarous relic. The distinction is important to realise. In other words, it is the monetary system that existed prior to WW I that he dismissed as such and not gold itself.
Of course, this 'idea' was very appealing to sovereign governments issuing fiat currencies. So his idea or gratuitous suggestion gained great prominence in political and banking circles where he subsequently gained great influence, to the point of becoming a dogma followed by most who chose to venture in the field of economics.
Unfortunately, Keynes' mistake caused the going into hiding of all the monetary scientists and as a result we have today the tragic situation where not even investment professionals know what honest money is or what the role or true nature of gold is and why.