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De-Dollarization: The Death Knell For US Hegemony?
An unprecedented wave of “de-dollarization” is sweeping the globe. De-dollarization means countries which have used the US dollar for international trade since WWII are actively adopting alternatives, threatening to end to the US dollar’s global reserve currency status. As of April, the Malaysian government is the latest to signal its willingness to desert the dollar, following in the footsteps of other vital national economies. Via Epoch Times:
A brief summary of some of the most important de-dollarization developments throughout the world economy:
All of this is exceedingly relevant because, for decades, the US has used its currency as a tool for geopolitical domination. Via European Conservative:
Just a year ago, abandoning the dollar would have been considered national suicide by most policymakers. But a Eurasian war over a relatively obscure piece of geography, of all things, paved the way for a whole new paradigm. Via NPR, February 2022:
Russia was then forced to develop alternative economic arrangements – after all, “necessity is the mother of invention.” It did just that, setting the precedent for the cascade of countries now rethinking their subordinate economic position vis a vis the United States. Assuming maintaining US hegemony is still the goal (it may not be), the multinational corporate state in charge of the West made a huge miscalculation when it cut Russia out of the international banking system. What does de-dollarization mean for war and peace? If historical precedent is any reliable indicator, the answer is “nothing good.” Consider, for instance, that the United States launched a bloody coup against Libyan President Moammar Gaddafi for the crime of attempting to establish a pan-African currency to replace the dollar. Neoliberal four-star general Hillary Clinton, upon learning of his death, laughed maniacally into the camera. All that to say: to start a war over economics is nothing to these people. The architects of the US war machine understand well that their military primacy is inexorably dependent on American economic primacy. If the latter falls, so goes the former. Geopolitical realignments of the sort currently underway rarely occur peacefully – the only notable exception in recent history being the relatively bloodless dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 90s. All signs point to war.
Ben Bartee is a Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs. Contact him via his portfolio or on LinkedIn.
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