THE RISE OF AMERICA

An optimistic prognosis of America’s financial future focuses on major global trends in monetary policy.

In this book, Katusa acknowledges that the United States is currently in the throes of an economic crisis, caught in a deflationary recession out of which it won’t soon extricate itself. But he refuses to join the now familiar chorus of “doom-and-gloom sentiment” regarding the future prospects of the country. The author convincingly predicts that the U.S. will continue to be a pioneer in technology, especially in the energy sector; that it will bolster its domestic manufacturing capabilities; and that it is uniquely prepared to accommodate the coming backlash against globalization, partially the consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. But Katusa concentrates on the advantages the nation gains as a result of the dollar and grand shifts in monetary policy. Regarding the dollar, he argues that it will continue to serve as the default currency of the world, its hegemony unchallenged by ultimately weak rivals. In fact, America will dominate the international credit market so thoroughly that the principal geopolitical alliances will form around a shared dependency on U.S. dollars. At the heart of his book is a searching discussion of the American and global transition to modern monetary theory, in which the U.S. government continues to stimulate the economy through controlled inflation. Because of the digitization of currency, the “money supply can be increased indefinitely and in unlimited quantities without provoking the hyperinflation that has laid waste to most previous fiat currencies.” Katusa’s contentions are lucidly presented, an especially impressive feat given the technically prohibitive nature of the subject matter. He often strays far beyond his expertise—he makes sweeping predictions regarding foreign policy and energy storage, for example—but the core of his argument doesn’t depend on these digressions. In addition, he furnishes an edifying and accessible overview of monetary theory in general and the history of fiscal policy as it has been conducted by the U.S.

A refreshingly unconventional and defensibly encouraging account of America’s economic and political future.