Introduction
Is money merely a technical instrument or the foundation of power over society? By analyzing the thought of Denis Fahey and St. Thomas Aquinas, we discover that the debate over the gold standard and debt creation has a profound theological dimension. This article explains how modern financial systems, from fractional reserves to AI algorithms, impact family stability and national sovereignty. You will learn why financialization threatens the common good and which pillars should underpin a just monetary reform.
Denis Fahey and the Thomistic Critique of the Gold Standard
According to Denis Fahey, the manipulation of money is a form of political dominance. He compares changing the value of currency to arbitrarily shortening the measurement of an inch—whoever controls the measure rules the fate of its users. In the philosophy of St. Thomas, money is artificial wealth, intended only to facilitate the exchange of real goods. The gold standard appears here as a mechanism that perverts order, as it makes the economy dependent on geological whims rather than the needs of the community.
The key problem is fractional reserve banking, which Fahey calls systemic usury. Private banks create money from debt, allowing them to unilaterally change the rules of the economic game. The proposed sovereignty of issuance rests on four pillars: breaking away from gold, a state monopoly on debt-free money, the separation of creation from lending, and the establishment of a body to ensure price stability. Only such a reform can restore money to its role as a servant to humanity.
Financialization, AI, and Global Debt Models
Modern financialization destroys production and family stability, reducing human relationships to debt calculations. Michał Kalecki pointed to the political resistance of elites toward full employment—unemployment serves them as a whip to discipline workers. Various cultures attempt to limit this dominance. The Arabic model utilizes the institution of waqf (an inalienable endowment) and the prohibition of usury (riba) to link profit with real risk, while the West remains trapped in the hegemony of debt.
A new challenge is artificial intelligence, which automates monetary policy. AI could become the "new gold"—an opaque tool of technocratic power. However, if algorithms are subjected to social control, they could promote transparency. Regardless of technology, fiat money without institutional reform remains a tool for capital concentration, distancing us from the ideal of just income distribution.
Asset Management and the Trap of Automatism
The Catholic Church protects its resources through a sacral-corporate regime. Institutions such as APSA manage thousands of properties, balancing their mission with liquidity requirements. Asset security stems from the dispersion of ownership and international agreements. However, logical analysis reveals the trap of automatism: it is impossible to simultaneously maintain the gold standard, private money creation, and a just Thomistic order. This is a contradiction that masks the real power of finance over politics.
For the system to serve the common good, monetary policy must pursue normative goals: supporting dignified work and family stability. Money cannot be an end in itself. Reform in the spirit of Fahey demands the courage to recognize that every measure of value is a moral decision. Instead of retreating into the fetishes of bullion or algorithms, we must subordinate finance to ethics and the real needs of society.
Summary
Dreams of returning to the gold standard are often nostalgia for a material symbol in a world dominated by data. Fahey’s analysis reminds us that true value lies not in metal, but in human labor and just relationships. Instead of chasing technocratic pipe dreams, we should build financial systems that prioritize the common good over automated profits. Can we regain control over money before algorithms finally replace ethics in managing our destiny?
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