Macro Musings with David Beckworth · Monday, August 3, 2026
Paul Bluestein believes the US dollar will maintain its dominant role for the foreseeable future, despite the US not always acting responsibly with this power. He emphasizes that while dollar dominance provides significant power, particularly in using it as a foreign policy weapon like sanctions, it comes with a responsibility that the US has not always met.
“I believe quite strongly that the dollar will retain its dominant role for the foreseeable future, by whatever definition you want to apply to the word foreseeable.”
“But my central, overarching theme of the book is that although, I believe that the dollar will remain dominant for the foreseeable future, I do not think that this means that the United States should be complacent about being the issuer of the world's dominant currency.”
“I argue that despite the Spider-Man principle ought to apply to the dollar, with great power comes great responsibility.”
“The dollar's dominance confers great power on the United States. I think the main power is to use the dollar as a weapon for foreign policy purposes.”