{{Draft|author=MBauwens|date=2026-02-02}}
An '''International Unit of Account''' is a proposed mechanism for international trade that would replace national currencies as the basis of exchange, addressing what economist Steve Keen calls "the Curse of Capitalist Empires."

== Discussion ==

=== The Curse of Capitalist Empires ===

Steve Keen explains:

<blockquote>
"Becoming the international currency is therefore not a spoil of Empire, but a spoiler of Empires."
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
"The fundamental flaw of the current system is what I call the Curse of Capitalist Empires: any country that creates an Empire in a capitalist world system is undermined when its currency becomes the basis of international trade. The process is as follows:

* No country has ever become an Empire by conquering other countries with imported weapons. A critical step in becoming an Empire, therefore, is creating weapons that defeat its rivals. This requires a strong manufacturing sector;
* Once that country becomes an Empire, its currency becomes the basis of international trade within its Empire;
* This pushes up the value of its currency relative to its vassals, which weakens the Empire's manufacturing sector;
* One (or more) of the Empire's vassals (or rivals) develops a strong manufacturing sector, which enables it to construct weapons that enable it to overthrow the Empire;
* That once vassal becomes the next Empire, its currency replaces the previous Empire as the currency for international trade, and the cycle repeats."
</blockquote>

=== Proposed Solution ===

<blockquote>
"The only way to stop this cycle is to use a unit of account for international trade which is not a national currency.

Such a proposal was made at Bretton Woods, but it lost out to White's imperial insistence that the American Dollar replace the British Pound as the currency for international trade. If any good can come out of the crazy situation we are in now—with NATO members wondering how to prevent the invasion of a NATO country by another NATO country—it would be that an updated version of that proposal is revived as the basis of a post-Trump international economic order.

The core idea is that a unit of account—and not a currency—is used as the means of international exchange. The unit of account would be administered by an International Clearing Union (ICU) at which all national Central Banks have accounts, and the sum of all these accounts would start at and remain at zero. A country which has a trade or payments surplus with the rest of the world would accumulate a positive balance; a country with a trade or payment deficit would run up an overdraft. This system would end the Curse of Capitalist Empires, by ending the otherwise automatic overvaluation of the Empire's currency."
</blockquote>

== Historical Background ==

The concept originates with John Maynard Keynes' proposal at Bretton Woods for an International Clearing Union using a unit called the "Bancor."

== See Also ==

* [[Bretton Woods]]
* [[International Monetary System]]
* [[Currency Reform]]

== Source ==

* [https://profstevekeen.substack.com/p/this-is-the-end-of-the-us-global "This is the End of the US Global" by Steve Keen]

[[Category:Economics]]
[[Category:Money]]
[[Category:International Trade]]
[[Category:Monetary Reform]]