Book talk:

Paul Blustein: King Dollar

The past and future of the world's dominant currency

 

16 April 2025 12:15-13:45 (doors open at 12:00)

Brown bag lunch

Temple University Japan room 312

1-14-29 Taishido, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo

東京都世田谷区太子堂1-14-29

By train: Sangenjaya Station/三軒茶屋駅

Exit South A/南口A

      

Prophecies that the US dollar will lose its status as the world's dominant currency have echoed for decades--and are increasing in volume, especially among cryptocurrency enthusiasts and sound money zealots. Contra the doomsayers, Paul Blustein shows that the dollar's standing atop the world's currency pyramid is impregnable, barring catastrophic policy missteps by the US government. Recounting how the United States has wielded the dollar to impose devastating sanctions against adversaries, Blustein explains that although targets such as Russia have found ways to limit the damage, Washington's financial weaponry will retain potency long into the future. His message, however, is that America must not be complacent about the dollar; the great power that its supremacy confers comes with commensurate responsibility.

Paul Blustein has written about economic issues for more than 40 years. He spent most of his career as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, and has authored several critically-acclaimed books. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin and Oxford University, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar, he lives in Kamakura.

He just published King Dollar: The Past and Future of the World's Dominant Currency (Yale University Press, https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300270969/king-dollar/).

Moderator

Paul Nadeau: Adjunct assistant professor, Temple University Japan.

 

Contact/RSVP: robert.dujarric@tuj.temple.edu. Feel free to circulate this invitation.