The Time is Ripe for an International Currency Reserve

–– Rejoinder, 45 Years Later ––
The article by Robert Triffin, “The International Monetary Scene Today and Tomorrow”, appeared in The International Spectator in 1970, a crucial moment for international monetary matters. In it, Triffin asserted that the convertibility of the dollar into gold – on which the Bretton Woods system was based – had de facto come to an end and that, if that system were to be resuscitated, the dollar would have to be officially declared non-convertible. Only one year later, on 15 August 1971, US President Nixon broke the link between the American currency and gold. Triffin’s prediction came true. […]