De-Dollarization Long Overdue
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
Henry Kissinger once said: “Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world.”
Dollar hegemony facilitates US corporate takeovers and speculative excess – creating bubbles and global economic crises.
It finances US militarism, its global empire of bases, and endless wars of aggression – smashing nations to control them at the expense of democratic freedoms and social justice.
Large dollar inflows into US Treasuries finance the nation’s budget deficit.
As long as world central banks buy US dollars and they dominate international trade, its hegemony is preserved at the expense of world peace, stability, security, and fundamental freedoms fast eroding en route to disappearing altogether.
Post-WW II, things have been this way because the dollar is the dominant freely convertible liquid currency.
Michael Hudson calls the system a “sinister dynamic (because) the US payment deficit pumps dollars into foreign economies.”
They have “little option except to buy US (debt) which the Treasury spends on financing an enormous, hostile (global) military build-up” – facilitating endless imperial wars.
Nations trading more in their national currencies could prove a game-changer longer-term. China’s introduction of the petro-yuan was a shot across the bow.
Venezuela halted trading in dollars, especially for oil, the nation’s key commodity. It’s trading in a basket of currencies, including the euro, Chinese yuan, Indian rupee, Russian ruble, others and cryptocurrency.
The Trump regime is waging political and economic war on Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela, Turkey, and other countries.
Its weaponization of the dollar against allies and adversaries encourages de-dollarization. It’s long overdue – an idea whose time has come.
US political and economic dominance over most of the world protects dollar hegemony.
If the ECB, Bank of England or Japan’s central bank “ceases to support the dollar, the others would follow,” ending its hegemony, Paul Craig Roberts explained, adding:
“If (inflated) prices of US debt and stocks were reduced to their real values, the United States would no longer have a place in the ranks of world powers.”
Under this scenario, greater war than already is most likely – possible global war with nukes.
The Trump regime imposed new illegal US sanctions on Russia, effective August 27 – more to come in 90 days is Moscow doesn’t comply with US demands.
New ones prohibit exports of weapons and dual use products. They deny credit and other financial assistance to Moscow. They remain in place indefinitely.
Russia vowed to retaliate tit-for-tat in response to US sanctioning all the nation’s “major financial, energy and defense companies,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov explained, adding:
“The time has come when we need to go from words to actions, and get rid of the dollar as a means of mutual settlements, and look for other alternatives.”
“(W)e will speed up this work, (along with other) retaliatory measures.” Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak believes growing numbers of countries have “a common understanding that we need to move towards the use of national currencies in our settlements” – shifting away from the dollar.
Dollar hegemony is far from over, but steps taken by China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela and other countries threaten its dominance as the world’s reserve currency longer-term.
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My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."
