Yay - Europe is now the whole world - bow down you peasants

We already have a global currency, it's called the U.S. Dollar.

Because letting international banks set monetary policy over the whole world is a great goal?

In an ideal world, it would be a fantastic idea. Same currency the world over, the same value the world over, no conversion necessary, some concerns over counterfeiting, but can be handled across the globe by all nations to share information. In a single mass dose, we all turn in our dollars and rubles into whatever credit chit the new world has. Then we get into our jet cars and ride off into the sunset, happy that Wilma Deering looks so damn good in her spandex, and wondering if the robot has set up that gambling den in the back room yet...

We don't live in an ideal world. And monetary policy is more than just: convert old dollars to new credits. It would end some entire industries based on currency swaps. It would certainly make banking easier across the globe. It would also shift a huge amount of cash to whoever controlled the physical presses, as well the body that determined the exchange rate for the initial conversion. It would put an unprecedented amount of power into hands that I just don't trust right now to look out for even the interests of the folks in their own nations, let alone the world.

Their own class? That's a different story, and it is a rift that is going to continue to grow for some time, as citizenship becomes more of a club that some claim to belong to, as opposed to it meaning all that much to them. Less a matter of pan-nationalism, than a unified class theory, and right now, we are engaged in a bit of class warfare across the world, and the sad thing is: the media is not reporting on it overly much, because the folks who control those presses don't really like to illustrate that, but LOOK, IT'S AN AMERICAN WITH A BIG GUN! LOOK A SCARY MUSLIM! HEY, IS THAT PIPA IN SHORT SKIRT?

BillCo: We already havehad a global currency, it's it was called the U.S. Dollar.

ftfy

When did the Euro go global? Last night I bought my 40-dog with good ol' 'Merican greenbacks (and a Canadian quarter)

How about no.

Ever.

The Euro was a mistake. You can't have multiple countries with individual governments all using the same currency. You need a single government for a single currency, or every country has to be at least roughly equal in development.

Globalization is already farking us over and that's just from outsourcing. If anything we should be more isolationist.

GAT_00: The Euro was a mistake. You can't have multiple countries with individual governments all using the same currency. You need a single government for a single currency, or every country has to be at least roughly equal in development.

To be fair, there are folks who figure that the Euro was a first step towards that end. The problem being, the 1500 years of Europeans beating the snot out of one another as nations, and the longer history of tribalism that each has based their national identities upon, and putting the idea out of setting all that aside from the get go, that was a bit too radical for the public. Instead, join economies, as much as joint security forces, then merge nations together into a union that would scare the bejeebus out of the former Soviet states, and make the US somewhat uncomfortable as well, despite our allied status with every single one of the potential signatories.

Then cue the New World Order conspiracy theorists.

I think that is where Europe is heading. Economic interests are so nested at this point, that it is a natural enough progression. How to achieve it is going to be the question. Especially with business interests being very wary of a consolidation of power, though a banking haven to exist on that scale? That is really the goal. Not a single entity, but a place of refuge to head into after raiding developing economies, and keeping them in that status, that seems to be more where the money is headed. That there will be a captive and educated market is likewise nice, but there is a history of trouble there as well, given the deep roots of European socialism that will undercut profit margins, and a reliance on the state to actually provide stuff that means that the creation of such a state has to be considered very carefully. There are a lot of elements to go into a merging of so many nations, and it's not a simple matter of balancing nationalistic urges, but to create a pastiche that will serve a variety of interests.

It ain't going to be easy...

Mugato: Globalization is already farking us over and that's just from outsourcing. If anything we should be more isolationist.

I am very ok with trade.

I am not ok with Free Trade. It destroys local economies and causes financial imbalances.

Nadie_AZ: Mugato: Globalization is already farking us over and that's just from outsourcing. If anything we should be more isolationist.

I am very ok with trade.

I am not ok with Free Trade. It destroys local economies and causes financial imbalances.

It depends on what you are chamioning as "Free Trade." I am all for the freedom to compete, and the freedom to compete fairly.

Which is the exact opposite of what most folks who shout FREE TRADE! mean. They want the freedom to do any damn thing they want, without restriction and without any regulation or hinderance of squashing their competition by hook or crook. It should never the be free of regulation, but rather, the freedom to compete, and compete fairly. When everyone is on the same basic footing, so that the best products, services, and strategies rise to the top. What we have now, are folks who like to game the system, and want to institutionalize that to keep anyone else from getting anything up on them.

It is a perversion of the system, and it is offensive folks who want to see real competition drive things.

wildcardjack: Go back and study our Articles of Confederation to understand why Europe both tried to build a unified currency and why it's having trouble.

If you are going to share a currency then you need to share a government that is a lot stronger and more central than the EU. But governments seldom devolve powers to higher authorities willingly.

That being said, it's going to be a long time before we get any government body higher than our federal government. Although I suspect some interesting things will come along with the AI singularity. If we're lucky, we'll get a technocratic rule bent on increasing overall human happiness. If we get what we deserve it'll make the matrix movies look optimistic.

Pretty much. If they want to join a firmer union, then a singular currency would be appropriate. Instead, they tried it the other way around. Introduce a common currency then cohese into a stronger political union. Europe will, I suspect, become a singular nation, and the funny thing, is if they do it right, then every nation in it will believe that their nations finally carved Euope into the single empire that they've all dreamed of...well, since the Romans left.

Keynes Bancor? (new window)

"Would it make more sense to have one currency for the entire world?"

no, no it would not.
If greece has not been enough of an example against this idea, toss in protugal, spain, italy and the US.

Unless countries gave up their sovereignty or were allowed to go bankrupt, a single currency wouldnt really solve anything :P

MyRandomName: With a global currency, how could a Government just print more money to try and fix all its problems? The solution to all problems is just to print more money. See US Recovery.

but unless you have MASSIVE inflation (the recent US inflation has BEEN TINY), printing money is fine.

The best part of the call for a new or different global currency to replace the US dollar is that ANYONE can do this.
The euro has been a GREAT experiment for creating a balance to the US dollar. OPEC keeps talking about a PETRO-dollar.
They could do that tomorrow and only sell oil in petro-dollars. Everyone else would be required to buy and sell them.
China is talked about as the 3rd big currency. The DAY that China lets their currency float on the open market is the day they take their real place in the global market.