Image by AK Rockefeller via Flickr
by Michael Hudson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
February 20, 2023
Geopolitical Economy Report on Feb 10, 2023
Economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson explain the relations between money and debt, their role in imperialism, and the rise of the US dollar system.
Excerpt:
Michael Hudson: The point that we’re going to be making throughout this whole discussion is that the dollar really isn’t an international currency, it’s a national currency. And being that, it reflects American self-interest.
One of the problems is that right now countries find they have to support the dollar. When they get a dollar inflow, they’re worried about their currency going up against the dollar.
[…]
Well, Super Imperialism is different from the old form of colonialism. Colonialism was all based on military occupation, essentially by force and by blocked currency areas. But Super Imperialism is how the United States has gotten a free ride from the rest of the world — how the United States has dominated other economies, not by the old colonialist form, not by having a military force in many countries, but in monetary forms.
Radhika Desai: 1. What is money? Why does it appear to take national forms? Can there be world money?
2. What is the relation of money and debt? Michael in particular has done a lot of work on this and we want to talk about this.
3. Is money a commodity? We want to talk about whether money is a commodity. I’ve shown, for example, that Polanyi said money is not a commodity and Marx would have agreed with him.
4. What is the ‘theory’ of how the dollar has served as the world’s money?
5. Was the dollar system like the sterling system? What was the sterling system? Since that theory relates to the sterling system, and always refers back to the sterling system, we need to show how the sterling system actually worked, or rather did not work, and what were its instabilities.
Michael Hudson is President of The Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends (ISLET), a Wall Street Financial Analyst, Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and author of A Philosophy for a Fair Society (2022), The Destiny of Civilization (2022), …and forgive them their debts (2018), J is for Junk Economics (2017), Killing the Host (2015), The Bubble and Beyond (2012), Super Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire (1968 & 2003 & 3rd Edition 2021), Trade, Development and Foreign Debt: A History of Theories of Polarization v. Convergence in the World Economy (1992 & 2009) and The Myth of Aid (1971), amongst many others. He can be reached via his website Michael Hudson, mh@michael-hudson.com. Originally published Feb. 13, 2023.
From the archives:
Michael Hudson, Radhika Desai and Danny Haiphong: The Economics of the Ukraine Proxy War
Michael Hudson and Radhika Desai: What Causes Inflation?
The World Bank — Underneath The Rhetoric, The Usual Right-Wing Prescriptions, by Pete Dolack
Michael Hudson and Radhika Desai: Multipolarity and the Decline of US Hegemony
Central Banks Are A Symptom, Capitalism Is The Cause, by Pete Dolack
Michael Hudson: The World Bank Has Always Been An Arm Of The U.S Military
Money As Debt (video) + “In Debt We Have Trusted,” For over 300 years By Jim Kirwan
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Rome devastated their coins with the education that I learned after History degree Computer Info System to ask myself “what is money” ?
Gandhi and salt , cotton all about commodities.
Banking for loans law would only allow the Jews because charging interest as in Muslim religion cannot charge interest thus only people allowed were the Jews and I was at the front door of that first loans.
Medici loaned money and so did another location . How did the monarch’s fund the Crusades?
A true History class would give a true economics education that was why Rome fought the Punic Wars because of the shipping around Mediterranean Sea and up to Britain for Tin. Commodities to trade with others as porcelain from China along with “silk”.
If any student really had a thinking brain they would instantly realize Capitalism will “eat itself” because the planet commodities is FINITE . I discovered this as was top of my History classes in ‘60’s. From that moment my father disinherited me because I became a Socialist.
Michael is best please have discussion with Yanis included.
Thanks for your comment.
Did you mean Yanis Iqbal, or someone else?