Your Economics teacher, Dr. C., stated during his lectures that a true gold standard, where each unit of currency can be freely and without any restrictions and limitations, exchanged for a fixed amount of gold, never really existed. He claimed that since the amount of gold held by governments was never more than a small fraction of the amount of credit in circulation, the gold standard was an illusion, a mere fig leaf, a psychological play on the irrational gold fetish.
Analyze Dr. C.`s statements in essay form, backing up your statements and justifying your conclusions.