Being a gold bug is irrational because gold is backed by "it's pretty" but paper is backed by men with guns.

People often forget.... so is gold. And it's much harder to print. Plenty of the people with guns want gold. In fact in the lawless parts of Brazil/Guyana/Bolivia even unschooled forest dwellers pay their "tax", trade, create debts, hire security, and buy food with it all with minimal friction in handling it. Plenty of people hate on gold, but it is the tongue that everyone understands.