✔ To understand how the Silver Standard came to be established in Europe and the U.S. and why it has been a source of controversy throughout the last millennium.

✔ To understand why the British stopped using silver as the currency reserve and switched to the gold standard in the early 19th century.

✔ To gain a general deeper appreciation of what our money is, what it is backed by, and how the rich and powerful often settle upon a system for their own convenience and not because it is right, logical, or objective.

✔ ​To gain a general deeper appreciation of what our money is, what it is backed by, and how the rich and powerful often settle upon a system for their own convenience and not because it is right, logical, or objective.

✔ To gain an appreciation of how powerful elites like the Guelph and the Medici gain power and influence and how they serve as examples of how powerful networks tend to expand in power over time. 

Discussion Questions

1. Why was there a transition from bartering to money in many traditional societies?

2. Who are the Guelph and what were the means by which this group gained power during the last millennium? 

3. Who were the Medici Family and what were the means by which this family gained power and influence in Europe from the 14th century onward? 

The Holy See is often referred to as the Vatican. How is this different from the entity known as the Vatican City State?

Name a few examples of the scandals that occured related to the Vatican Bank during the last decade?

Who are the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM)?

​What is the Committee of 300? How is this organization related to the SMOM?