A GLOBAL financial summit held in Paris some days ago reached a 'new' global pact to help developing countries deal with poverty, climate change and debt. Part of the solution? More 'funds,' that is, debt. Ironically, nobody at the Paris summit questioned the current monetary system, which is at the root of the debt problem.

Coincidentally, a recent article in the journal Real-World Economics Review (http://www.paecon.net/PAEReview/issue104/Spano) argues that one of the potential consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war could be the demise of the US dollar as the international unit of account. If this materializes, the international monetary system may change significantly. This could be one of the most important events of the 21st century.