ECONOMICS: Toward Stability

The United Nations were beginning to put to use the tools they had fashioned for world reconstruction. Now it was Bretton Woods. Thirty-five of the 44 nations that had signed the Bretton Woods agreements became charter members by ratifying before the Dec. 31 deadline. Nine others (most conspicuous absentee: Russia) could join later if their applications were approved.

Basic Problem. The new tool could be used to further any kind of trade and any kind of world its dominant users wanted. Its avowed purposes were to promote world trade by helping stabilize exchange...

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