Afternoon Comrades.
Occasionally a moment in History passes that I find so important that I want to share them with you, this weekend marked just such a day, the 79th anniversary of the conclusion of the Bretton Woods Conference.
Stumped, right?
As always and before we start, occasionally and I say this as passionate historian, it is absolutely worth learning and knowing about certain historical events only to understand that our current material and ideological reality is entirely man-made and thus just as easily changed. That’s a hugely important part of history, history is just that, a mixture of ideology and material dialectism. Also, these stories are definitely part of the “the more you know” department, since none of us really ever get taught real history in school / university, only what the ruling classes want us to believe.
The Bretton Woods Conference
From July 1 to 22 in 1944, 730 delegates gathered in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire for the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, which would become known as the Bretton Woods Conference.
The Conference was called to ‘ensure greater political stability’ to prevent World War III, but in reality, it was a gathering of bourgeois British & US economists plotting a new world economic order that ensures expanding profit of Global North at the expense of Global South. In case you ever wondered who made Reagan and Thatcher the key clowns in ruining every aspect of your life, here you have it. Again, the more you know. Reagan and Thatcher were nothing but little puppets that acted on the implied realities of this conference. If you want some more details on this I did write a piece back in May on this subject that you can check out below.
The key participants in the Bretton Woods Conference were representatives from 44 Allied nations. Some of the notable individuals who played crucial roles in the conference include:
Harry Dexter White (United States) - A leading American economist and the chief architect of the conference's monetary proposals.
John Maynard Keynes (United Kingdom) - A renowned British economist and one of the most influential figures at the conference, advocating for a system that would promote international economic cooperation.
Lord Halifax (United Kingdom) - The British Ambassador to the United States, who represented the United Kingdom at the conference.
Henry Morgenthau Jr. (United States) - The U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, who led the American delegation at the conference.
These key participants, along with representatives from other nations, engaged in extensive negotiations to establish a new post-war international monetary order. The outcome of the conference led to the creation of institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which have played significant roles in the global economic system since their inception. Not in a good way, at all.
This conference more importantly designated US dollar as the international currency & medium of exchange, instead of gold. Since its establishment, the IMF has been a tool of the Global North to maintain domination under the guise of ‘development’. Rather than ‘helping’ countries, the IMF has forced structural adjustment programs (SAPs), locking countries into underdevelopment to ensure continual resource extraction, an unending debt crisis, and perpetual economic dependence.
IMF loans are structured in a way that undermines the government’s ability to provide public services and conditions their assistance to the countries’ commitment to implementing necessary structural reforms that rely on the markets for the allocation of resources.
The Bretton Woods Conference reinforced economic imperialism and neocolonialism. The IMF and World Bank were designed to promote global economic stability but often imposed policies that favoured the interests of the global North, particularly Western capitalist nations. Structural adjustment programs dictated by the IMF imposed austerity measures, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and trade liberalization on developing countries, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation by multinational corporations.
Secondly, the conference perpetuated unequal power relations between the global North and the global South. The dominant capitalist powers wielded significant influence in shaping the post-war international monetary system, while developing nations had limited say and were often coerced into accepting policies that were detrimental to their long-term development. This concentration of economic power reinforced the dependency of the global South on the global North, leading to a continuation of unequal trade relationships and economic exploitation.
Additionally, the Bretton Woods Conference facilitated the subjugation of developing nations under the guise of economic development. The push for privatization and deregulation promoted the interests of multinational corporations over the welfare of the people. State assets and resources were often sold off at discounted prices to foreign investors, exacerbating wealth inequality within developing countries. Additionally, the focus on export-oriented growth and cash-crop agriculture led to the neglect of domestic industries and food security, further marginalizing vulnerable populations.
Consequently, essential services, such as road infrastructure, access to clean water, education & even healthcare are left in the hands of private businesses. The provision of loans is contingent on embracing market competition & removing government involvement in these sectors. Throughout the 1950 & 60s, during the wave of independence movements, IMF targeted its structural adjustment programs against countries in Africa, Asia & Latin America, which struggled with an international economic system shaped by colonialism & capitalism.
SAPs perpetuate poverty, ensuring a permanent debt crisis as countries become reliant on predatory IMF loans. These countries are forced to open markets to exploitation from US companies & divert revenue towards debt payments at the expense of essential infrastructure & welfare.
I could go on and on and I will not bore you with the mountains of statistical evidence that all leads to the same conclusion: the Bretton Woods Conference was the kick off point between the UK and the US that subjugated the entire Global South under a new form economic colonisation, enforced by a Military Complex the world has not seen before. Root cause analysis is vital in our understanding of history and only with and through it can we understand who and what we are facing. Your life is managed, the world being destroyed not by faceless ideas but by people, and these people have names and addresses.
Below is an introduction to some further reading on this subject, until then, my dear comrades, keep your mind sharp and your blades sharper.
Yours, faithfully,
V
Further Reading
Frantz Fanon - "The Wretched of the Earth": In this seminal work, Fanon analyzes the consequences of colonialism and imperialism on the psyche of the colonized people and discusses the challenges faced by newly independent nations in the global South.
Samir Amin - "Delinking: Towards a Polycentric World": Amin, an Egyptian Marxist economist, critiques the global economic system and advocates for a radical transformation of international relations to address the exploitation faced by developing countries.
Arghiri Emmanuel - "Unequal Exchange: A Study of the Imperialism of Trade": Emmanuel explores the concept of unequal exchange in international trade, explaining how the global South is exploited through unequal terms of trade imposed by the global North.
Eduardo Galeano - "Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent": Galeano's book examines the history of Latin America and exposes the exploitation and pillaging of the continent's resources by imperial powers, including those from the Bretton Woods Conference.
David Harvey - "A Brief History of Neoliberalism": Harvey discusses the rise of neoliberalism as an ideology and economic system, highlighting its negative impact on the global South and the increasing inequality it perpetuates.
Vijay Prashad - "The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World": Prashad provides a comprehensive history of the Third World and critiques the dominant narrative of development and modernization perpetuated by the Bretton Woods institutions.
Ha-Joon Chang - "Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective": Chang challenges the prevailing narrative of economic development and argues that the global North historically used protectionist policies before promoting free-market principles on the global South.