Gold is Money

consider:
Aristotle's choice of money, revisited

This is a nice little comparison of different things that can have value. Durable, Portable, Divisible, and Intrinsic values are metrics that make up the important uses of money. Medium of Exchange (divisible, portable), Unit of Account (divisible), and Store of Value (Durable, Intrinsic Value).




He makes the case that many of these things in their modern form have more money like qualities . And I certainly agree, this has been where things have been heading.

Speak to a God, Gold, and Guns person though, and they might suggest that ETFs are unproven in the longer term, and while they are portable, divisible, that they are durable (try trading in your etf if the government collapsed), and the line in your account holds no intrinsic value, though it's easier to trade to something of intrinsic value (ie, it's more like a dollar, in that it gives the bearer a claim to something with intrinsic value).

So while I'd give different answers to the questions he poses, they are extremely good questions, and from a non-god/gold/gun perspective, he's absolutely correct.