The US seems to be stuck in the Bretton Woods system, the rules-based order – underpinned by the IMF and the World Bank, with the US dollar at its heart – that emerged after World War II. The Bretton Woods system institutionalized America’s geopolitical supremacy, leaving the old imperial power, the UK, to step aside – a step that it took graciously, if a little desperately, given its grave postwar economic situation.
美国似乎沉迷于布雷顿森林体系无法自拔。布雷顿森林体系是一套基于规则的秩序，其基础是以美元为核心的IMF和世界银行，出现于二战后。布雷顿斯林体系将美国的地缘政治霸主地位制度化，而旧帝国力量英国只能靠边站——姿态还算体面，虽然从其糟糕的战后经济状况看也带着一丝绝望。