Charles de Gaulle, Jacques Rueff and French International Monetary Policy under Bretton Woods

Bibliographic Data

ID10073391
AuthorsChristopher S Chivvis (European Studies at the Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Washington, DC., corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume41
Issue4
Pages701-720
Publication date2006-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0094 • E-ISSN: 1461-7250
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0022009406067753
OpenAlexW2119230150
LanguageEN
Citations received5

This article examines conservative French economist Jacques Rueff's arguments for a return to the gold standard in the 1960s. It explains the intellectual background out of which his belief in the importance of 'real money' arose, assesses his influence on the international monetary policy pursued by President de Gaulle in the mid-1960s, and sketches the relationship of his views to broader French and international debates about the international monetary system in this period. Rueff's belief in the gold standard arose in large part from his belief in the importance of monetary stability to what he considered 'Western' civilization and its struggle against the totalitarian 'East'. De Gaulle saw gold as a means of avoiding excessive supranationalism in international economic arrangements. Their plans for a return to gold were defeated for more complex reasons than are traditionally given

Civilization · Economic history · Economics · Gold standard (test · Keynesian economics · Monetary hegemony · Monetary policy · Monetary system · Period (music · Political science · European Socioeconomic and Political Studies · Global Financial Crisis and Policies · Law · Philosophy · Political and Social Issues