Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crises

James Richards

Dec 2011 · Ascent Audio · Narrated by Walter Dixon

About this audiobook

In 1971, President Nixon imposed national price controls and took the United States off the gold standard, an extreme measure intended to end an ongoing currency war that had destroyed faith in the U.S. dollar. Today we are engaged in a new currency war, and this time the consequences will be far worse than those that confronted Nixon. Currency wars are one of the most destructive and feared outcomes in international economics. At best, they offer the sorry spectacle of countries' stealing growth from their trading partners. At worst, they degenerate into sequential bouts of inflation, recession, retaliation, and sometimes actual violence. Left unchecked, the next currency war could lead to a crisis worse than the panic of 2008. Currency wars have happened before-twice in the last century alone-and they always end badly. Time and again, paper currencies have collapsed, assets have been frozen, gold has been confiscated, and capital controls have been imposed. And the next crash is overdue. Recent headlines about the debasement of the dollar, bailouts in Greece and Ireland, and Chinese currency manipulation are all indicators of the growing conflict. As James Rickards argues in Currency Wars, this is more than just a concern for economists and investors. The United States is facing serious threats to its national security, from clandestine gold purchases by China to the hidden agendas of sovereign wealth funds. Greater than any single threat is the very real danger of the collapse of the dollar itself. Baffling to many observers is the rank failure of economists to foresee or prevent the economic catastrophes of recent years. Not only have their theories failed to prevent calamity, they are making the currency wars worse. The U. S. Federal Reserve has engaged in the greatest gamble in the history of finance, a sustained effort to stimulate the economy by printing money on a trillion-dollar scale. Its solutions present hidden new dangers while resolving none of the current dilemmas. While the outcome of the new currency war is not yet certain, some version of the worst-case scenario is almost inevitable if U.S. and world economic leaders fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors.

Ratings and reviews

Well? How can we run out of copy paper which cost about 1-5 cents peer sheet? Paper is not valued according to U S Constitution now or never has? US Money acordiing i US Constitution is and has always been limited to GOLD & SILVER not any thing else according to "LAW" ! Our fear is without reason? Go figure it out? We stopped stamping out Gold & Silver after the Treasonous Congress sold the rights for a what? Must of been at least a quadlerian of gad zillions of every bit of all the valuable metals from Earth to The fartherist star... Only someone with a gun to her head like Hilery would make such a deal and is completely without authority.... We are not bound to anything out side our 10th amendment to kiss any ones asses... How me the Law which had to be ratified by all the States at that time and voted by the people!

Great book, concise and particularly accurate given the current events occurring these last few weeks. Great series Jim

Exceptional read thank you sir!

About the author

Walter Dixon is a winner of Audible's "#1 Editor's Choice and Customer Favorites" award. The narrator of more than 200 audiobooks, he has performed on stage in stand-up comedy, theater, and opera productions. He has also voiced animated features, vintage radio dramas, and audio tours for the Guggenheim and other museums.