The role of world-money and finance in the current contest for global hegemony

Catalunya davant del nou context de contesa imperial

Abstracts del 4rt Congrés d’Economia i Empresa de Catalunya

US hegemony, also called Pax Americana, has been based largely on US control over the dollar, which has acted as world money. This hegemony has consisted of two periods; the first phase, which runs from 1945 until the fall of the Soviet bloc and based on the dominant global role of its domestic accumulation, and the second, based on the so-called Washington Consensus, and the aggressive imposition of the neoliberal agenda on the periphery through the provision of loans accompanied by conditions on domestic policies,  and forcing the opening of commercial and financial flows. These two phases made it possible to secure American hegemony, even when it seemed that it might enter into crisis, after the domestic crises of the 1970s. The second hegemonic phase is also the phase in which the euro was created, which will act as both a domestic currency and a means of payment between Eurozone member states, and will be proposed as a potential competitor to the dollar. However, the European currency will only serve to project German hegemonic power regionally, creating new peripheries within Europe, not achieving the role de competidor esperat i alhora generant problemes estructurals al vell continent. This phase will also be marked by China's incorporation into the WTO, with the expectation on the part of the American elites that the country would adhere totally to the neoliberal framework and that it would be transformed politically. The expected changes have not occurred, while, in 2010, China was already the world's largest exporter, doubling exports from the United States. Currently, its exports have a large presence in the manufacturing sectors of low, medium and high added value, highlighting its role as a producer of telecommunications equipment and electric vehicles. China's emergence has been accompanied by disputes with Russia since the mid-2010s, a power with military and industrial capacity, which has been demonstrated in the current war with Ukraine. However, the main dispute is with China, which despite rising as a serious competitor for hegemony still cannot compete with the US in the field of finance and world money. That is why, following the sanctions imposed on Russia, mainly the seizure of its reserves in dollars, some periphery countries, led by China and Russia, are proposing alternatives in the financial and monetary field based on new trade and monetary agreements, which could exploit new distributed ledger technologies. This article aims to review these developments and question the subordinate strategy followed by Western European countries in the US' current hegemonic dispute with the emerging bloc led by China. The article aims to offer a perspective of how this subordination in the neoliberal period that is reaching its exhaustion, has placed European states, especially those on the southern periphery, such as Spain, in a situation of political and economic dependence that does not offer a viable alternative for the near future.

SC S. Cutillas

Document data

How to cite

m (Sergicutillas moved page Draft Cutillas 648606656 to Review 382396694226)
 
(2 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
==ABSTRACT==
 
==ABSTRACT==
  
−
"The role of world money and finance in the current contest for global hegemony
+
"Catalunya davant del nou context de contesa imperial
  
−
US hegemony, also called Pax Americana, has been based largely on US control over the dollar, which has acted as world money since 1945. This hegemony has consisted of two periods; the first phase, which runned from 1945 until the fall of the Soviet bloc and based on the dominant global role of its domestic accumulation, and the second, based on the so-called Washington Consensus, and its aggressive imposition of the neoliberal agenda on the periphery through the provision of loans accompanied by conditions on domestic policies and forcing the opening of trade and financial flows.  
+
Aquest article examina l'hegemonia global dels Estats Units, el seu control del dòlar i les dues fases de dominació que han caracteritzat la seva influència: la primera, basada en l'acumulació interna, i la segona, marcada pel neoliberalisme i la globalització. Amb l'emergència de la Xina com a competidor econòmic, la situació hegemònica s'ha complicat, donant lloc a un nou ordre multipolar. En aquest context, Catalunya, com a nació sense estat, ha d'evitar subordinar-se a l'Estat espanyol o pactar amb potències imperialistes. En canvi, hauria de construir aliances regeneratives basades en la descentralització i l'ús de noves tecnologies, mantenint un enfocament que empoderi les comunitats locals. A més, es ressalta la necessitat de combinar aquest model amb polítiques estatals tradicionals de redistribució de la riquesa, mobilització de recursos i propietat pública. Aquesta aproximació pot liderar la transició cap a una Catalunya més sobirana, justa i sostenible, allunyada de les estructures hegemòniques globals.
−
 
 
−
The second hegemonic phase is also the phase in which the euro was created, which will act as both a domestic currency and a international means of payment between Eurozone member states, as well as a future potential competitor to the dollar. However, the European currency would only serve to project German hegemonic power regionally, creating new peripheries within Europe, not achieving the role of competitor to the dollar and generating structural problems in the old continent.
 
−
 
 
−
This phase was also marked by China's incorporation into the WTO, with the expectation on the part of the American elites that the country would adhere totally to the neoliberal workings and that it would be politically transformed. The expected changes did not take place, whereas, in 2010, China was already the world's largest exporter, doubling exports from the United States. Currently, its exports have a large presence in the manufacturing sectors of low, medium and high added value, especially in telecommunications equipment and electric vehicles. China's emergence has taken place in parallel to American disputes with Russia since the mid-2010s, a power with strong military and industrial capacity that has been demonstrated in the current war with Ukraine.  
 
−
 
 
−
Despite rising as a serious competitor for hegemony, China is still unable to compete with the US in the field of finance and world money. However, following the growing global tensions and sanctions imposed by the US onto other states, among which most notably the freezing of Russian reserves in 2022, a group of countries led by China and Russia are exploring alternative arrangements that bypass American control over monetary and financial institutions by exploiting new distributed ledger technologies.  
 
−
 
 
−
This article aims to review these developments and question the subordinate strategy followed by Western European countries in the current hegemonic contest of the US with the emerging bloc led by China. The article aims to offer a perspective of how this subordination in the neoliberal period that is reaching its exhaustion, has placed European states, especially those on the southern periphery such as Spain, in a situation of political and economic dependence that does not offer a viable alternative for the future.  
 
  
  

Latest revision as of 20:03, 10 October 2024

ABSTRACT

"Catalunya davant del nou context de contesa imperial

Aquest article examina l'hegemonia global dels Estats Units, el seu control del dòlar i les dues fases de dominació que han caracteritzat la seva influència: la primera, basada en l'acumulació interna, i la segona, marcada pel neoliberalisme i la globalització. Amb l'emergència de la Xina com a competidor econòmic, la situació hegemònica s'ha complicat, donant lloc a un nou ordre multipolar. En aquest context, Catalunya, com a nació sense estat, ha d'evitar subordinar-se a l'Estat espanyol o pactar amb potències imperialistes. En canvi, hauria de construir aliances regeneratives basades en la descentralització i l'ús de noves tecnologies, mantenint un enfocament que empoderi les comunitats locals. A més, es ressalta la necessitat de combinar aquest model amb polítiques estatals tradicionals de redistribució de la riquesa, mobilització de recursos i propietat pública. Aquesta aproximació pot liderar la transició cap a una Catalunya més sobirana, justa i sostenible, allunyada de les estructures hegemòniques globals.


KEYWORDS: USA, Hegemony, neoliberalism, world money, China, Russia"

2 The main text

3 Bibliography

4 Acknowledgments

5 References

Back to Top
GET EPUB

Document information

Published on 31/05/24
Submitted on 30/05/24

Licence: CC BY-NC-SA license

Categories

Economics

Document Score
0

Views 6
Recommendations 0

Keywords
icon