[Benn Steil] The real cost of 'de-dollarization'

At the end of World War II, the United States accounted for more than half the world’s economic output and gold reserves. The United Kingdom was effectively bankrupt, with the remnants of the sterling area bound together by capital and trade controls. Once the British pound became convertible in July 1947, owing to US insistence, it succumbed to overwhelming selling pressure. The dollar, which was pegged to gold at $35 an ounce, was buoyed by America’s privileged position within the

ViewpointsAug. 21, 2023

[Robert Fouser] Young people reject partisan bickering

The 25th World Scout Jamboree, which began in a sweltering campground atop the reclaimed land of Saemangeum on the coast of North Jeolla Province and ended with a K-pop concert at Seoul World Cup Stadium, leaves much controversy in its wake. Shortly after the opening on Aug. 1, news of extreme heat and unsanitary conditions began to spread on social media. As more Scouts began to suffer from exhaustion and heat stroke, the British and American Scouts left the camp, raising fears that the event w

ViewpointsAug. 18, 2023

[Lee Kyong-hee] Radical, mistimed ministry shakeup

The Ministry of Unification is reportedly being overhauled and its focus will shift to human rights in North Korea and intelligence analysis. Organizations for inter-Korean dialogue, exchange and cooperation are set to be shut down or downsized and merged. Given the prolonged stalemate in South-North relations and the grim prospects for a breakthrough anytime soon, an extensive revamping of operations can be justified. However, a broad-brush restructuring clearly departs from the ministry’

ViewpointsAug. 17, 2023

[Jason Furman] Why Is US inflation falling?

In just one year, inflation in the United States has fallen from a peak of about 9 percent to just 3 percent. Standard economic models suggest that such rapid disinflation would be possible only with a large increase in unemployment. But the unemployment rate has remained steady, at around its 50-year low, for the entire period. Do economists need to throw out our models and start over? While no macroeconomic theory is perfect, and humility is always in order, a closer look at the data suggests

ViewpointsAug. 17, 2023

[Patricia Murphy] Donald Trump and the eleven dwarfs

You all already know Donald Trump, the favorite for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. But have you met the supporting characters in his story? There’s Grumpy, the Florida governor, and Friendly, the senator from South Carolina. You know Smarty, the former UN ambassador, and Screamy, the New Jersey governor who helped Trump get elected the first time around, but had a change of heart after Trump was in the White House. There’s Talky, the young businessman who is full of new

ViewpointsAug. 16, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] World Scout Jamboree and Korean society’s ageism

Recently, two incidents left us gloomy and depressed. One was the World Scout Jamboree debacle and the other was a Korean politician’s biased remark on senior citizens. The jamboree disaster seriously damaged the image of South Korea in the international community, and the politician’s suggestion that senior citizens’ voting rights should be restricted according to their longevity irrevocably ruined the image of the Democratic Party of Korea to which she belongs. The two incide

ViewpointsAug. 16, 2023

[Jeffrey Frankel] The end of zero interest rates

What a difference two years make. In 2021, when interest rates were near zero in the United States and the United Kingdom and slightly negative in the eurozone and Japan, the consensus was that they would remain low indefinitely. Astonishingly, as recently as January 2022, investors put the probability of rates in the US, eurozone, and the UK rising above 4 percent within five years at only 12 percent, 4 percent, and 7 percent, respectively. After adjusting for expected inflation, real interest

ViewpointsAug. 15, 2023

[Ward Hayes Wilson] ‘Oppenheimer’ overhypes nuclear weapons

The movie “Oppenheimer” hypes a serious issue of national survival, and in the process makes matters much, much worse. By mythologizing J. Robert Oppenheimer (and in the process ascribing godlike powers to nuclear weapons), the movie sets back efforts to control these dangerous devices. True, people who watch the movie will emerge frightened about nuclear war. But decades of terrifying pictures of ash, rubble and burned bodies have not, apparently, stifled governments’ desire f

ViewpointsAug. 14, 2023

[David Redman] American education and the great white lies

Recent battles over how to teach history in American schools have focused on views of America’s domestic racism, but that’s only one piece of the problem of how we view history. Our pre-college curriculums and popular histories are filled with stories of great white men who single-handedly changed the world. This heroification, however, is often as much a made-up history as the stories of Marvel heroes in the movies. Many of these supposed ground-breakers were in fact preceded by gen

ViewpointsAug. 14, 2023

[Peter Singer] Feed people, not factory farms

After Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, ships used to export grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports stopped traveling there because they were liable to be attacked by Russian forces, which suspected them of carrying military supplies. That caused grain prices to soar to record levels and sparked fears of famine in countries in the Middle East and Africa that had previously imported Ukrainian grain, especially wheat. Eventually, in July 2022, Russia agreed to give ships tra

ViewpointsAug. 11, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] Watching 'Barbie,' 'Top Gun Maverick' ＆ 'Mission: Impossible'

Three recent blockbuster movies, “Barbie,” “Top Gun Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning” have one thing in common. They invariably deal with the compelling issues we are now facing in this challenging era. “Barbie” delves into the core issues of feminism. “Top Gun Maverick” portrays the virtues of the maverick spirit that we need to cope with the international crisis caused by countries that are threatening to use nucle

ViewpointsAug. 9, 2023

[Jeff Nelligan] My military family and AVF at 50

Plebe Summer is underway at the US Naval Academy, where 1,184 young men and women grind through the second week of their “college” experience, complete with obstacle courses, firearms and fully-clothed plunges into the Chesapeake Bay. These determined young people represent one element of the All-Volunteer Force, which marked its 50th anniversary this year after military conscription ended in 1973. It is one of the most remarkable institutions this nation has ever produced. I should

ViewpointsAug. 8, 2023