Paul Blustein on the Rise, Dominance, and Current Challenges to King Dollar
Macro Musings with David Beckworth
Release Date: 04/14/2025
Macro Musings with David Beckworth
Paul Blustein is a former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal journalist who has authored several acclaimed books on global economic institutions. In Paul’s first appearance on the show, he discusses the historical rise of the dollar, it’s present-day power, how it compares to other global currencies, current challenges to its power, the rise of crypto, and much more. Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on March 26th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Follow David Beckworth on X: Follow Paul Blustein on X: Follow the show on X: Check out...
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info_outlinePaul Blustein is a former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal journalist who has authored several acclaimed books on global economic institutions. In Paul’s first appearance on the show, he discusses the historical rise of the dollar, it’s present-day power, how it compares to other global currencies, current challenges to its power, the rise of crypto, and much more.
Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links.
Recorded on March 26th, 2025
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Timestamps:
(00:00:00) – Intro
(00:00:52) – Paul’s Books
(00:05:08) – Motivations for King Dollar
(00:09:02) – History of the Dollar
(00:12:57) – Nixon Shock of 1971
(00:23:36) – Paul Volcker
(00:33:14) – Dollar Dominance and Statecraft
(00:40:46) – What About the Euro?
(00:44:42) – Cryptocurrency as a Rival to the Dollar
(00:47:54) – Drawbacks of Dollar Dominance
(00:57:03) – Outro