The war in Ukraine is first and foremost a human tragedy, a blatant injustice, the bankruptcy of a potentate who has lost all sense of morality and humanity. But Vladimir Putin’s attack on the neighboring country may be remembered for another reason: as the International Monetary Fund rightly warns, it could mark the end of an economic system that has, on balance, served the world well for 75 years.
This system is based on rules and the idea that division of labour, trade and international cooperation not only increase prosperity but also promote peace and freedom. Admittedly, the blessings never benefited all people equally, because contracts were stretched at the expense of the weaker and political decisions were often aligned with the interests of large corporations. Nevertheless, the ideas of Bretton Woods, the global currency system created here in the USA in 1944, and the surges in globalization over the past few decades have been instrumental in freeing hundreds of millions of people, especially in Asia and Latin America, from the poverty trap.
It would therefore be fatal if this model were now replaced by a construct made up of three or four power blocs (USA, Europe, China, Russia), each with its own economic rules and standards, and from then on only the law of the strongest were to apply. This would not only jeopardize the future economic prospects of all almost eight billion people on earth, but also peace and freedom. Because even if the idea of states that trade with each other not fighting each other may have failed, one has to fear that two states are doing it none Trade with each other, are citizens and companies of one country not at the same time suppliers and customers of each other, the weal and woe of all depend not together, the danger of war is much greater.