The predictable collapse of the American-imposed Afghan government has served as a powerful illustration of the hubris of the West’s Very Serious policy elites. Within the chaos of the past week emerged a figure that perhaps best personifies the sheer inadequacy of the modern ruling class: former president Ashraf Ghani.

Did you know Afghanistan has a central bank? Established in 1939, it’s called Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) and in the near future will likely come under control by the Taliban. Nonetheless, the institution has some history, like the nation of Afghanistan itself, which had a monetary system using coins dating back over two thousand years!

Their policies parallel those of the Federal Reserve.

Having marked the quinquagenary of the destruction of the gold standard Sunday, August 15, it is natural to be a little nostalgic for the Bretton Woods system. After all, it might not have been the classical gold standard, but at least it wasn’t as bad as the fiat standard that succeeded it. As sites such as wtfhappenedin1971.com document, that year indeed looks to be a turning point in the economic history of the West. However, the suspension of convertibility of dollars into gold was simply the logical outcome of the system.