The Crisis of Our Time the Roots

Peter F

Published on: 2021-03-18

Abstract

In 1945, the Bretton Woods system set the conditions that would allow monetary stability by linking the printing of money to a real underlying asset, namely gold. The currency of reference to which other currencies had to belinked was the dollar that could be printed in a ratio of $36 for every ounce of gold. Until 1971, monetary stability favored unprecedented economic development. However, starting from the mid-60s in the US, the Vietnam War began absorbing increasing monetary resources, and the student protests affected the country’s internal equilibrium.