“The U.S currency is like gold. Everybody wants it. Either you have it for me or you don’t have the thing you want”. This was the reply I received from a vendor when I refused to pay him in U.S dollars. It really disturbed me and made my life difficult. The U.S dollar is so powerful that at times it dominates our lives and has become an empire on its own merit.
The original role of currency was to facilitate the transfer of goods and services. It was a medium of exchange in the form of coins and paper bills used as money. It served as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a standard of value. The role of currency has shifted greatly in the modern world. Now currency is used as a commodity of trade and has presented the opportunity for vice and greed.
The end of World War II and the collapse of Communism has empowered the U.S to become the only superpower in the world. Today, its currency as well as its domestic and foreign policies control the way countries around the world react. The famous British economist, John Maynard Keynes, was correct in saying “He who controls the currency controls the country”. Meaning, that the ability to control currency empowers a country to rule the world.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, two leading creditors to the developing countries in the world are using financial aid to interfere in the sovereignty of other countries. Fiat money, a system that dominates U.S currency is expanding beyond its borders controlling the world and empowering its central bank to print as much money as they wish to counter the deficit.
The currency of the U.S dollar, which is premised on fiat system is valuable because the White House through the Federal Reserve ordered that it may be used to finance the debt or to pay for goods and services. The most important fact is, that it is able to exist because people trust that the U.S dollar will be reasonably stable. It is like credit controlled by the creditor, in which the government’s central bank or federal reserve acts as the major creditor backing the currency.
The demand for the U.S dollar is ever present because peoples and governments ‘trust’ the United States. In order to create demand, there must be a market to supply the currency. Mere ‘trust’ authorizes and enables the U.S currency to dominate. This ‘trust’ empowers the White House to run the country while in deficit.
There are some countries which govern in deficit but cannot survive and end up having huge foreign debts owned to the World Bank and the IMF. They are paralyzed by the foreign policy restriction imposed on them. By the same token, there are also some countries running a government in surplus with huge sums of foreign reserves, but they are not as powerful as the United States.
I cannot not imagine or comprehend how a company in deficit for a number of years can survives? Who helps this company to survive in running their day to day operating costs? Where does the money come from?. The fact is that as of the 19th of February 2009, the U.S federal debt stands at US$10.802 trillion dollars. At the same time, many countries hold huge amounts of U.S dollars in their banks, namely China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Russia, India, South Korea, Brazil, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Germany. If the U.S currency loses its value, what will happen to the world?
The United States bears a huge responsibility to the world community. Peoples and governments around the world depend on and have high hopes for the way the U.S handles its economy. ‘Peoples-trust’ signifies an important diplomatic consequence. If the U.S dollar were to collapse, the consequences would be unimaginable. The ‘trust’ that people have for the United States dollar must be compensated by acts of sincerity and responsibility, not by greed and self-centered selfishness.
As human beings of reason, particularly those who hold high office, must always remember that the world is like fire. From a distance it looks bright and inviting adorned in orange clothing. If one tries to touch it, ones hand would get burned. Its appearance is very different from its reality. The same is true of the world. Externally the world is alluring and fascinating, inviting dreams of comfort and ease. In reality there is pain and suffering, anxiety and misfortune. This metaphor reminds us that that there are many countries struggling to survive to feed their citizens.
The world is like that of honey, and the worldly person is like the ant attracted to the honey, but gets caught in its sticky stratum. The harder it struggles to free itself, the more it becomes stuck. Had it been content to simply sit at the edge and taste a little of the honey, it would have escaped death. But greed resulted in the loss of its life. In the same manner, worldly people are prisoners to their wealth and are destined for ruin. Those who take from the world only what they have a genuine need for will escape destruction. World governments have to seriously take note that its core business is to protect their people and humanity in general from man-made destruction. They must ensure the spirit of cooperation and respect among nations be observed. The act of greed, arrogance, intolerance, and so on must be avoided.
Greed is indeed one of the causes of all sorts of ethical problems facing society today. When greed rules a nation, it transforms its society and they become locked in disputes and dissention where justice, security and stability are ignored.
The obsession with wealth accumulation places life in jeopardy. Wealth is not all there to man’s life, nor does man’s real happiness lie in collecting wealth. Nevertheless, many people make the mistake of believing that wealth is the most important matter in life. They, therefore, waste the prime of their lives seeking wealth while depriving themselves of everything else. This is a very mistaken way of thinking and it is one of the reasons behind many miseries. We struggle to acquire grandiose toys, cars, clothing etc. thinking that all that is the way to happiness. In fact, if that is the end in itself, it can only lead to disappointment and deprivation.
History has recorded that in all great empires throughout history, society was strong and filled with purpose as it struggled to develop. But as their dreams of power were fulfilled, they found only emptiness. They become decadent, their societies began to decay from within, and their empires, ultimately collapsed.
