Fix spelling, grammar and typos

notes/neo-metallism.md

@@ -44,16 +44,16 @@ Neo-metallism argues that cryptocurrencies, and in particular Bitcoin, can and s
 
 ## Gold as Currency
 
-* Gold has a historical precedent as money across cultures going back millenia.
+* Gold has a historical precedent as money across cultures going back millennia.
 * Multiple cultures have independently used it as currency.
-* It’s metallurgical properties make it uniquely suited amongst the elements on the periodic table.
-  * It’s relative abundance (although not excessive abundance) and distribution across the Earth’s crust make it rare enough to horde and access even for bronze age cultures.
-  * It is stable at room temperature, doesn’t oxidize , easily detectable because of its glimmer and unique aesthetics, it is malleable without advanced smelting technology and is uniquely distinguishable from other metals.
+* Its metallurgical properties make it uniquely suited amongst the elements on the periodic table.
+  * Its relative abundance (although not excessive abundance) and distribution across the Earth’s crust make it rare enough to hoard and access even for Bronze Age cultures.
+  * It is stable at room temperature, doesn’t oxidize, is easily detectable because of its glimmer and unique aesthetics, is malleable without advanced smelting technology and is uniquely distinguishable from other metals.
   * It is probably the ONLY element on the periodic table that has all of these unique characteristics that could even be used for monetary purposes.
-  * There is only a finite amount of it produced in supernova events and nuclear reactions, it is thus impossible to counterfeit or “debase” the supply.
+  * There is only a finite amount of it produced in supernova events and nuclear reactions: it is thus impossible to counterfeit or “debase” the supply.
 * Advanced economies began stockpiling gold in government reserves and issuing notes against that float in redemption in gold by a government treasury.
-* Gold theoretically acts as a universal numeraire across economic systems allowing interchange and commerce. It is a fixed “measuring sticking” for economic value that cannot be changed.
-* It satisfies the definition of money, it can theoretically function as a unit of account, medium of exchange, and store of value. The only issue is that it incurs storage costs and is not easily transported because of its density and physicality.
+* Gold theoretically acts as a universal numéraire across economic systems allowing interchange and commerce. It is a fixed “measuring stick” for economic value that cannot be changed.
+* It satisfies the definition of money: it can theoretically function as a unit of account, a medium of exchange, and a store of value. The only issue is that it incurs storage costs and is not easily transported because of its density and physicality.
 
 ### Why the Gold Standard: Fiat Money, Sound Money and the Gold Standard
 
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ The Gold Standard is Good
   * Inflation is a bad thing: prices will be driven up at different times, distorting relative prices, wages, and rates of return. Artificial distortion can lead to booms in production and consumption which are out of line with future reality, leading in turn to dramatic busts.
 * The Philosophical Argument
   * Intervention is inherently undemocratic, in that it allows a select few individuals to exert undue power over the lives of the rest of a nation (and beyond).
-  * This is the argument laid out in Hayek’s famous Road to Serfdom (1944).
+  * This is the argument laid out in Hayek’s famous *Road to Serfdom* (1944).
 
 Bitcoin is Better
 * Bitcoin is Like Gold
@@ -86,9 +86,9 @@ Bitcoin is Better
   * Bitcoin shares three other important characteristics with gold:
      1. Scarcity: Bitcoin is artificially scarce, just as gold is naturally scarce. There is a hard limit of 21 million coins baked into Bitcoin’s design. This makes it inherently deflationary, just like gold.
      2. Universality: Bitcoin shares gold’s “universality” due to  its prominence in the crypto sphere. Just as gold is the standout element suited to peg currency to, so Bitcoin is the only standout cryptocurrency due to it being the original and most prominent.
-     3. Fair initial distribution: The lack of overarching controller or owner means there was a “fair” distribution mechanism for Bitcoin. It rewarded early finders and /investors in the same way as natural distribution of gold rewarded those who initially unearthed it.
+     3. Fair initial distribution: The lack of overarching controller or owner means there was a “fair” distribution mechanism for Bitcoin. It rewarded early finders and investors in the same way as natural distribution of gold rewarded those who initially unearthed it.
 * Bitcoin Functions Better Than Gold
-  * Bitcoin is digital and so is not subject to the same costs around storage and transport as gold. 
+  * Bitcoin is digital and so is not subject to the same costs around storage and transportation as gold. 
   *  Bitcoin is arguably more decentralized. Gold supply is mostly controlled by sovereign nations like the U.S., China, Germany, and other European countries.
 
 
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ Bitcoin is Better
     *  While excessive inflation is bad and governments/central banks have made errors in the past, this has been rare. Historically most have quite easily kept inflation under control.
     *   The flexibility offered by the ability for governments/central banks to intervene is highly useful, and worth the risk of error. Most obviously, they can stabilise in the face of shocks, for example, a pandemic. This was the reason we switched to fiat currency in the first place.
         * Paper money was issued as an emergency measure in Spain, during the conquest of Granada (1482-1492). 
-  * The gold standard can also lead to the reverberation of shocks through the global economy. This is because economic shocks in one economy will lead to investors buying up gold as a safe asset. Given currencies are pegged to gold, this increase in demand in one nation can have significant impacts on the value of currencies the world over.
+  * The gold standard can also lead to the reverberation of shocks through the global economy. This is because economic shocks in one economy will lead to investors buying up gold as a safe asset. Given that currencies are pegged to gold, this increase in demand in one nation can have significant impacts on the value of currencies the world over.
 * The Philosophical Argument
   * Hayek's claim hasn't been borne out historically. Since leaving metallism most metrics of prosperity have increased, and there have been fewer crises than under the old system. There hasn’t been any evidence of any shift away from democracy or increases of the translation of political power to economic benefit (where such things do happen today, it’s not happening through monetary policy).
   * There are ways to democratize the fiat system without returning to gold e.g. we can increase the democratic accountability of those in control of monetary policy.
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ Bitcoin is Better
 
 'The Bitcoin Standard is Better'
 * 'Bitcoin is Like Gold'
-  * Bitcoin cannot function as a medium of exchange. The transaction throughput is so small that it doesn't work as a global system of currency - it can't process transactions fast enough.This is inherent to the proof-of-work process Bitcon uses to verify its transactions. This incapacity is therefore baked in.
+  * Bitcoin cannot function as a medium of exchange. The transaction throughput is so small that it doesn't work as a global system of currency - it can't process transactions fast enough. This is inherent to the proof-of-work process Bitcoin uses to verify its transactions. This incapacity is therefore baked in.
   * Bitcoin does not appear to hold potential as a store of value given its extremely high price variance. 
     * Gold, on the other hand, has historical precedent as a store of value in economic insecurity; its price has proven to be better insulated from broader economic dynamics than many other asset types. 
     * If Bitcoin were to behave as a [store of value](../concepts/store-of-value.md) it would have to abandon hypervolatility, and there is no easily identifiable economic mechanism for this to happen.  
@@ -121,15 +121,15 @@ Bitcoin is Better
   * Bitcoin being digital does not mean it is without its costs. 
     * The extraction, transport and storage costs associated with gold are outweighed by massive Bitcoin mining costs. The [“proof-of-work” mechanism](../concepts/consensus-algorithm.md) used to validate transactions and undertake mining for Bitcoin requires a huge amount of electricity (costly and environmentally damaging). This verification process creates significant friction around transactions - the system is very slow, particularly when lots of people are using it. 
   * Bitcoin, unlike traditional commodities, has a negative price elasticity of demand  - demand goes up with price, not down. For this reason, Bitcoin looks like a [speculative](../concepts/speculation.md) [bubble](../concepts/bubble.md), which at some point will inevitably crash.
-  * States can synthetically stimulate demand for a single, fiat currency by demanding tax in this currency, ensuring the whole system works and that the value of such currency can never drop to zero. In other words, there is a clear mechanism to guard against value bottoming out. The same cannot be said for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcon.
+  * States can synthetically stimulate demand for a single, fiat currency by demanding tax in this currency, ensuring the whole system works and that the value of such currency can never drop to zero. In other words, there is a clear mechanism to guard against value bottoming out. The same cannot be said for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
   * Bitcoin no longer shares gold’s uniqueness. 
     * Lots of new “alt coins” -  new alternatives to Bitcoin - are being minted, meaning the cryptocurrency market is now crowded with competitors.
     * High numbers of different coins also creates inflationary effects - the very thing stores of value are intended to guard against.
     * Single currency systems were adopted as these are significantly more efficient. A single price in a single currency allows far easier exchange of goods. Having multiple issuers of currency adds friction to trade, as one must convert the value of a given object between currencies before exchange can take place. 
-    * The history of large issuances of private money isn't good.These systems are subject to fraud and a general breakdown of trust. If any bank can issue its own [private bank notes](../concepts/private-money.md), how does one know which bank is reliable and which isn’t?
+    * The history of large issuances of private money isn't good. These systems are subject to fraud and a general breakdown of trust. If any bank can issue its own [private bank notes](../concepts/private-money.md), how does one know which bank is reliable and which isn’t?
 
 ## A Final Note on Trust
-* In the world of Bitcon, and [blockchain](../concepts/blockchain.md) more generally, replacing interpersonal trust with cryptographic verification mechanisms is seen as positive; we no longer need trust: in states, governmental institutions or one another.
+* In the world of Bitcoin, and [blockchain](../concepts/blockchain.md) more generally, replacing interpersonal trust with cryptographic verification mechanisms is seen as positive; we no longer need trust: in states, governmental institutions or one another.
 * The problem with trust is that when you get rid of it, it's very hard to get it back. If crypto were to fail we would risk a large-scale general reduction in trust. Even if it were to succeed, it would likely lead to a significantly diminished role for trust at a broader level.
 * At the root of [trustless](../concepts/decentralization.md) blockchain technologies are assumptions about human nature, which have significant implications for how we approach vital questions of social cooperation. 
 * There is evidence that high trust of strangers correlates with positive economic and social outcomes. 
@@ -173,4 +173,4 @@ Bitcoin is Better
 1. Wang, G., Tang, Y., Xie, C., & Chen, S. (2019). Is bitcoin a safe haven or a hedging asset? Evidence from China. Journal of Management Science and Engineering, 4(3), 173–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmse.2019.09.001
 1. Caferra, Rocco, Gabriele Tedeschi, and Andrea Morone. 2021. ‘Bitcoin: Bubble That Bursts or Gold That Glitters?’ Economics Letters 205: 109942. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2021.109942.
 1. Wolf, Martin. 2019. ‘The Libertarian Fantasies of Cryptocurrencies’. Financial Times, February. https://www.ft.com/content/eeeacd7c-2e0e-11e9-ba00-0251022932c8.
-1. Fantacci, Luca. 2019. ‘Cryptocurrencies and the Denationalization of Money’. International Journal of Political Economy 48 (2): 105–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/08911916.2019.1624319.
+1. Fantacci, Luca. 2019. ‘Cryptocurrencies and the Denationalization of Money’. International Journal of Political Economy 48 (2): 105–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/08911916.2019.1624319.