Central banks have become the dominating force in financial markets.

Despite strenuous efforts by many orbiting the MAGA movement—from traditional conservatives, to anti-war libertarians, to restraint-oriented MAGA figures—President Trump struck Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 22, 2025. Opponents of the strikes highlighted the blatantly obvious risks: encouraging Iran to race to a nuclear weapon, terrorism aimed at America, or uncontrolled escalation into globe-spanning conflict.

[Good As Usual: Anti-Exceptionalist Essays on Values, Norms, and Action by Timothy Williamson. (Oxford University Press, 2025; xv + 238 pp.)]

In a previous article, I suggested that the BRICS—led by China and Russia—might offer an alternative international trade settlement system that would be independent of the US and the dollar. The BRICS have consistently stated that the world needs to move on from the dollar-centric hegemony that has existed since the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944 and toward a multipolar world. I pointed out that China plans to establish gold vaults/banks outside its borders for the first time.