While a broad and abrupt sell-off by major foreign holders of dollars – for example, China – appears unlikely, a cataclysmic event, similar to the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, could prompt a search for a new international medium of exchange. In the modern era of automated payments, the upheaval might come from a terrorist attack that undermines the computerized transfer facilities of the world’s banking system.
有什么事件可能会触发国际市场上致命性的挤兑美元呢？尽管主要的外国美元持有者例如中国突然间大范围抛售美元看起来不大可能，但是，某一类似于1914年第一次世界大战爆发那样的灾难性事件有可能促使人们寻求一种新的国际交易媒介。在现代自动支付年代里，这一动荡可能来自某一破坏世界银行体系计算机化的转移设施的恐怖主义袭击。电子记录灾难性的丢失几乎会摧毁美元作为国际交易媒介的信誉。