I strongly recommend that anyone interested in the subject of money should take the time to read this article by Benn Steil. One may be dubious about his intentions, but this is one economist who knows what he’s talking about within the frame of central banking and political currencies.
Summary: Global financial instability has sparked a surge in “monetary nationalism” — the idea that countries must make and control their own currencies. But globalization and monetary nationalism are a dangerous combination, a cause of financial crises and geopolitical tension. The world needs to abandon unwanted currencies, replacing them with dollars, euros, and multinational currencies as yet unborn.
Steil also gave an interesting presentation on related subjects at this month’s New York Hard Assets Investment Conference. Read and hear it here.
Beyond Money 