The impact of the U.S. dollar on the international community - part 2

From the perspective of a single economy entity, currency, as a medium of exchange, has the attributes of the public good—that is, under the premise of legal compliance, someone has the right to use currency for transactions without being hindered by others. Ideally, international currencies should also have the attributes of public goods. When market entities want to use international currencies for transactions, they should not be disturbed.

But the ideal is just an "ideal" after all, the reality is another scene. Since World War II, the U.S. dollar, as the most important international currency, has an extremely stable position. Although other currencies have been given the task of challenging the status of the U.S. dollar, they have not succeeded. Of course, although this task has not been successfully completed in the past, which does not mean that it will not succeed in the future. It is not necessary to overturn the U.S. dollar, and it is not impossible for multiple international currencies to coexist. However, as Robert Mundell, the Nobel Prize winner in economics and the "father of the euro," said, the optimal number of international currencies is odd and less than three.

The internationalization of the U.S. dollar has brought many privileges to the United States. These arrogant privileges have aroused the dissatisfaction among many people, which include the former French President Charles de Gaulle. From a cost-benefit point of view, currency internationalization will bring both costs and benefits. But if the market choice which is under objective conditions promotes a currency to become an international currency, it is blameless that it will bring certain benefits to the country where the currency is located. However, when the issuing country of the international currency takes the international role played by its currency as a tool and weaponizes it, using it without restraint for achieving political purposes—then the international status of this currency is questionable.