{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/9a03fe9e-1ff0-4dcc-b3f6-50bd1f016ea4/baf2a697-2c4a-4253-8db8-c8a57963a2ca?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Talking Politics Guide to ... Bretton Woods","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/6195701f2eacc3a36070252a/619570bccb3c660012e3d2b5.jpg?height=200","description":"<p>David talks to Helen Thompson about the economic order that was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. &nbsp;What was agreed at Bretton Woods, how did it work, why did it eventually fail, and can any of it be revived?</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Talking Points:</strong></p><p><br></p><p>The Bretton Woods system:</p><ul><li>Established a system of fixed exchange rates with the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency (other currencies were pegged to the dollar, and the dollar was pegged to gold)</li><li>Created the IMF and the World Bank</li><li>Established capital controls</li></ul><p><br></p><p>On the surface, Bretton Woods is a success story. </p><ul><li>The following three decades were a period of economic growth and relative stability. </li><li>But there are other parts of that story too, such as low oil prices. </li><li>The system had to be patched up many times from 1961 onward, in part because of the misaligned role of dollars and gold. </li><li>Bretton Woods also created a problem for U.S. presidents who had to balance domestic and international pressures on the dollar. </li></ul><p><br></p><p>The election of Richard Nixon in 1968 marked the beginning of the end for Bretton Woods.</p><ul><li>Nixon didn’t like Bretton Woods because it imposed domestic constraints that were at odds with his protectionist message. </li><li>In 1971, Nixon ended dollar/gold convertibility. By 1973, it was clear that there was no longer the will to sustain Bretton Woods.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>The Bretton woods system was a function of American power—there’s no going back now.</p><ul><li>A system like Bretton Woods needs an anchoring power. </li><li>China doesn’t have a currency that is convertible in the same way and the Chinese are wary of the domestic pitfalls of becoming the international currency.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Further Learning: &nbsp;</p><ul><li>In <a href=\"https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2018/105-talking-politics-guide-to-the-1970s\" target=\"_blank\">the Talking Politics Guide to… the 1970s:</a> Helen discusses the decade in which the Bretton Woods system broke down.</li><li>The panel speaks to Oliver Bullough about “Moneyland,” and <a href=\"https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2018/117-moneyland\" target=\"_blank\">how a handful of London bankers helped break Bretton Woods</a>.</li><li><a href=\"https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2013-02-11/red-white\" target=\"_blank\">Why did the architect of Bretton Woods spy for the Soviets?</a> </li><li><a href=\"https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/?tag=Crashed\" target=\"_blank\">David and Helen talk to historian Adam Tooze</a> about the global financial crisis.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>And as ever, recommended reading curated by our friends at the LRB can be found here: </strong><a href=\"http://lrb.co.uk/talking\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>lrb.co.uk/talking</strong></a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Set your alarms…</strong> for Thursday when David talks to Martin Rees about how we should evaluate the greatest threats facing the human species in the twenty-first century. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p>","author_name":"David Runciman and Catherine Carr"}