E Pluribus Unum: Dollar Hegemony and Money Creation in IPE (Part 2)

Finally, the existence of debt rests on an international consensus - the hegemonic idea that upholds the sanctity of debt. The asymmetry of power conferred to the TCC arises partly out of dominated classes' willingness to accept the Dollar for purposes of exchange. This consensual aspect of the Dollar's power can be withdrawn with several courses of action by individuals and states:

A. The implementation of 100% reserve requirements by states on the banking sector.
B. Reduction of the banking sector's role in currency creation (and seigniorage capturing).
C. The promotion of local currencies that derive their value not from structures of power, but from the genuine consent of actors at the local level.
D. New ways of creating money that are in line with the physical economy and local spaces instead of transnational spaces.
E. Investigating and understanding the way in which money is created and how it affects our institutions, ideologies and behaviours.
F. A re-evaluation of the institution of debt's existence not in terms of immutable laws, but in terms of human wills and consent.
As Cox argues "we must shift the problem of changing world order back from international institutions to national societies" (p.140). In the long run, structural changes come about at the national level by building up a socio-political base that leads to the formation of historical blocs (Cox,p.140). If individuals wish to form an effective counter-hegemonic bloc, they must find new forms of money; to echo Cohen: "if you want political autonomy, don't rely on someone else's money" (p.46).

As Greco argues, money is something humans adopted as a social convention, such as a nose ring. It was meant to serve our purposes and to enhance our lives; only now, this ring leads around humans like cattle. Markets are socially constructed, and the 'laws' governing this part of the capitalist system can be changed. Growth for growth's sake stems from the way money is created, and competition stems from seeking out money not yet created. Points of exchange mark a consensus of two minds; each time this consensus involves a Dollar, it impresses itself upon the psyche of each economic actor a willing acceptance of the values, opinions and beliefs of the creators of currency. Finally, if money itself is not re-thought, re-evaluated and re-invented, any attempts to redefine the New International Financial Architecture along the lines of 'improving stability' or 'securing investor confidence' will result in the very problems it wants to fix.

Be Sure to Continue to Page 11 of "E Pluribus Unum: Dollar Hegemony and Money Creation in IPE".