In this episode, Rogoff - former Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund - explains how the US dollar came to enjoy this hegemonic status, what being the world’s reserve currency actually means in practice, and why he believes the dollar is now in decline.
Democracy is an illusion! It’s become a political system fostered by the élite, for the élite, in order to fool the people that they have a stake in the system. In actual fact, they have virtually none. The whole political system in the modern era, despite having noble beginnings, is now used to benefit the few at the expense of the many. – Mark Alexander, June 29, 2018
September 02, 2026
Is the World Giving Up on the US Dollar? | The Global Story
Sep 2, 2026 | America’s national debt recently hit a new milestone of $40 trillion. It is estimated that interest payments on the national debt are now the second largest expense in the US government budget, trailing only Social Security. How was the US able to borrow so much and for so long? One answer according Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff is the US dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency.
In this episode, Rogoff - former Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund - explains how the US dollar came to enjoy this hegemonic status, what being the world’s reserve currency actually means in practice, and why he believes the dollar is now in decline.
In this episode, Rogoff - former Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund - explains how the US dollar came to enjoy this hegemonic status, what being the world’s reserve currency actually means in practice, and why he believes the dollar is now in decline.