Outlining a Monetary System in Turbulent Times

An outline for a new International Monetary System (IMS) is proposed, designed to address the changing realities of today’s turbulent world. Framed on the view of an IMS as a multi-layered graph, it emphasises flexibility and modularity, together with a reduced role for the International Monetary Fund. The proposal seeks to move beyond the Bretton Woods framework, which still remains the object of “new improvements” that are actually marginal or merely technical aimed to save the status quo. The much-talked-about question of a reference currency is set under the perspective of negotiated currencies. Liquidity imbalances and hidden leverages are addressed, along with the risk and control aspects of the designed structure. It must be taken as a transitional scheme, a way to operate a more or less chaotic and less efficient System for a limited period. It outlines a path, robust to unavoidable retreats, leading to a stable structure within the new and as yet unknown order to come.