Dominant and dangerous
As America’s economic supremacy fades, the primacy of the dollar looks unsustainable
IF HEGEMONS are good for anything, it is for conferring stability on the systems they dominate. For 70 years the dollar has been the superpower of the financial and monetary system. Despite talk of the yuan’s rise, the primacy of the greenback is unchallenged. As a means of payment, a store of value and a reserve asset, nothing can touch it. Yet the dollar’s rule has brittle foundations, and the system it underpins is unstable. Worse, the alternative reserve currencies are flawed. A transition to a more secure order will be devilishly hard.
When the buck stops
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "Dominant and dangerous"
From the October 3rd 2015 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Leaders
How “judge-mandering” is eroding trust in America’s judiciary
The assignment of judges to cases should be random, not political
The world’s most improbable success story still needs to evolve
Under Lawrence Wong, the city-state has a new chance to change
What companies can expect if Labour wins Britain’s election
The party that aspires to lead the country is courting business