"The only way fiat currency fails is if the global economy goes so far down the tubes that gold isn't worth anything either, compared to nonperishable food and bullets."
There are countless examples of fiat currencies collapsing throughout history. It doesn't imply the collapse of civilization, just the collapse of an overburdened government.
Governments and banks would like us to believe that civilization will collapse alongside them if we let them fail. It's very convenient for them--they can get away with anything. But civilization has bounced back from much, much worse.
Looks like the USD is on its second iteration. Originally there were the United States Notes (aka Greenback) which were replaced with Federal Reserve Notes. (The Birth of U.S. Fiat Currency - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-02/the-birth-of-u-s-fi...)
Sorry, I meant US dollars (the default reserve currency of the world), not Argentinian pesos.
The occasional collapse of various small government currencies isn't really a statement on fiat currency, it's a statement on those particular small economies. For fiat currency to fail as a concept, the international reserve currency (USD for now) would have to fail.
There are countless examples of fiat currencies collapsing throughout history. It doesn't imply the collapse of civilization, just the collapse of an overburdened government.
Governments and banks would like us to believe that civilization will collapse alongside them if we let them fail. It's very convenient for them--they can get away with anything. But civilization has bounced back from much, much worse.