The dollarisation of the world economy has a lot more to do with the US being virtually untouched (negatively) by WW2 as opposed to the other major world economies who were all decimated (axis & allies). The US had the smallest downturn post 1945 and the fastest transition.
This allowed it to hoover up a large percentage of the worlds wealth AND through its military strength persuade, direct and control other former powers (refer Suez crisis for example).
Bretton Woods really isnt that important in that arc. It certainly helped solidify American hegemony over the 20thC but it was an outcome of power differentials rather than a creator of the hegemony.
It will breakdown over the next decades as the rising superpower China is not party to it, and Putin via the Fanta Felon has massively undermined the US soft power base
TL;DR Bretton Woods mostly codified unwritten agreements between the western countries while cementing the already present dominance of the US due to WW2.
Much of Europe definitely stored their gold in the US during and after WWII due to Bretton Woods, which ended in 1971 when Germany and France wanted its gold back due to the overprinted dollars of the Great Society act of the 60s.
Yes that’s certainly true, but Fort Knox being an international gold warehouse doesn’t actually impact dollarisation of the world economy and the inevitable transition away from it when/if US power abates
Its because of Breton Woods, and everybody owes each other USD globally in a giant mesh network, which requires the US to print it.
The dollarisation of the world economy has a lot more to do with the US being virtually untouched (negatively) by WW2 as opposed to the other major world economies who were all decimated (axis & allies). The US had the smallest downturn post 1945 and the fastest transition.
This allowed it to hoover up a large percentage of the worlds wealth AND through its military strength persuade, direct and control other former powers (refer Suez crisis for example).
Bretton Woods really isnt that important in that arc. It certainly helped solidify American hegemony over the 20thC but it was an outcome of power differentials rather than a creator of the hegemony.
It will breakdown over the next decades as the rising superpower China is not party to it, and Putin via the Fanta Felon has massively undermined the US soft power base
TL;DR Bretton Woods mostly codified unwritten agreements between the western countries while cementing the already present dominance of the US due to WW2.
Much of Europe definitely stored their gold in the US during and after WWII due to Bretton Woods, which ended in 1971 when Germany and France wanted its gold back due to the overprinted dollars of the Great Society act of the 60s.
Yes that’s certainly true, but Fort Knox being an international gold warehouse doesn’t actually impact dollarisation of the world economy and the inevitable transition away from it when/if US power abates