On Friday, May 25, 1984, a mere rumor
triggered a kind of panic in New York and London. This
makes François Renard remark in "Le Monde"'s May
27th's issue that "any rumor heard in one spot of the
globe travels over the world in a flash and that alarmed
holders rush to withdraw their stocks safe, whether they
be American, European, Asiatic or from the Middle East".
Rumor, financial storm, threat of a crash in the
banking system, wild fluctuations, panic, loss of
confidence create an uncontrollable situation : is this
how the International Money System is run, on a
"rational" basis ? And the people that try to suggest
remedies are considered utopians by all the supposedly
"realistic" experts who though, reveal themselves unable
to watch over this Pandora's box. A situation responsible
for the mad course that leads from depressions to wars,
from unemployment to poverty.
1929, "Black Thursday" or 1984 "Dull Friday" both show
how inadequate the means of the International Monetary
System is for distributing the enormous riches turned out
by modern industry.
Yet, before 1973, the starting point of today's
depression, exactly on July 26, 1972, the International
Monetary Fund Governors' Council stated :
"it is essential we would proceed on a reform of the
International Money System". A committee of 20 people
drafted a project which was never carried out and the
whole business was sent over to an Interim Committee that
does not do any better, as we can read in the October 27
1983 IMF bulletin that it is urgent to begin the Reform
of the International Money System and then, in the April
30 1984 bulletin, the subject is dropped. So, for 12
years this urgent reform has not made one step forward.
While, in 12 years there would have been plenty of time
to operate, full time, for 2 or 3 years, an international
commission of experts working on the data given by
Tinbergen, Duboin, Pierre Mendès-France or Charles
Warin. And, in a ten years' period, there would have been
plenty of time to work things out.
Why so many lost years ? Robert Granet, the Directeur
à la Direction Générale" for Foreign
Services of the Banque de France, sketches an answer in
the February 16 1984 report, "Towards an International
Money System ?" : "Actually as long as human nature and
the relationship between nations are what they are,
taking into account the sacrifices and infringement of
national sovereignties an effective reform of the
International Money System would imply, we have to
recognize that a complete overhauling of the system will
only be undertaken if we are compelled, coerced into
doing it. As it has already been said before, a return to
a secure situation in monetary matters, probably and
regretfully means new ordeals".
Will this "Dull Friday" open the eyes of political
leaders of every State as it shows them that the
indispensable reform of the world monetary system means
tackling a reform of unconditional national sovereignty
?
