World Monetary Reform

Archive Report

Attack on the Dollar in World Markets

Since the end of World War II, the United States has served as banker to the world by virtue of the unquestioned primacy of the dollar in international monetary exchanges. The dollar is still the strongest currency, but recent events show that it no longer is unassailable. Emboldened by a chronic deficit in the U.S. balance of payments, French President Charles de Gaulle has mounted an offensive of sorts against the dollar and the prevailing gold exchange standard. He seeks, in essence, return to a gold standard that would use the metal almost exclusively—instead of dollars and pounds sterling plus gold—as a medium for settling international accounts.

De Gaulle's challenge, spearheaded by conversion of French-held dollars into gold, has ...

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