At long last, here's the “Mondo”

Today, as we were driving and listening to the Democratic presidential candidates’ debate on NPR, the subject of China reluctance to let its currency appreciate came up in the exchange; as she often does, my wife asked one of her disarming questions that never fail to upset my conventional thinking: “Now that’s the world has shrunk and is said to be flat, why don’t we have one single currency?” I sure was surprised and I couldn’t think fast enough on my feet to utter something pretentious or stupid; instead a long silence ensued. Seconds later, I finally recovered and agreed that this might indeed be a good idea.

I thought of the Euro and the first attempt it represented to unit a significant basket of currencies within developed countries. Initially, everyone was predicting its quick demise, and today, tables have been turned as the Euro is seen as a serious alternative to the Dollar. This is how I drew a parallel between the Euro as a continental currency and its worldwide equivalent that I named “Mondo” for discussion’s sake. As a new worldwide, universal currency the “Mondo” would offer huge benefits; among others it would level the playing field and put and end to the parity games played by countries like China or Japan that keep a lid on their currencies to stay ahead with their trade balances. Likewise, a “Mondo” currency would go a long way to further stabilizing the world’s commodity markets. Of course, there would be rules and penalty to make sure that all participating nations are fiscally responsible; for instance, national budget deficits would be severely limited and sanctioned when they occur. This, without a question, would be an extremely complex proposition but its benefits would be enormous in terms of world trade, harmonious globalization and, down the road, in securing world peace. Now, may I tap the smart brains that might read this article? What would it take to make that unique currency work effectively within a united world central bank, without surrendering the sovereignty of each participating Nations?