Eli5: Why is gold considered to be inherently valuable?

Question

I hear some economics arguing that currency should be pegged to gold as a way of ensuring that its value isn’t arbitrary / volatile but I don’t understand how this would solve the problem. I understand that gold is a scarce resource that is difficult to mine but is it this alone that gives it intrinsic value ?

In: 115

Answer 1

It doesn’t have intrinsic value, beyond its usefulness in manufacturing/electronics/etc.

It has trade value, in that you can go to pretty much any country in the world and be able to exchange it for the local currency. In that sense, it functions as a universal currency.