the role of bretton woods system in the changes of international monetary system
the international monetary system has shifted from the gold standard to the credit standard over the past 200 years，while the bretton woods system is a key link between the two extremes. understanding the rise and fall of the bretton woods system will help understand the changes and challenges faced by the contemporary international monetary system. the death without a sickness of the ad hoc committee of the board of governors on reform of the international monetary system and related matters after 2008 global financial crisis，not only revealed the powerlessness of economists，but also the irreparable huge gap between theory and reality.
the bretton woods system is a key link between the two extremes
as the increase in productivity and trade volume brought by the industrial revolution undoubtedly broke through the constraints of traditional barter trade，international currencies emerged along with international settlements. as marx has pointed out that once the currency crosses the country，it should take off the coat of race and restore as commodity currency as gold. the continuous inflation in the history of various countries has repeatedly proved that it is necessary to restrict currency issuance. as a logical choice，the gold standard became the original form of the international monetary system. from this perspective，the international gold standard coming forth at the end of the 19th century was what everyone expected.
however，the gold standard born in wrong times. in the era of continuous promotion of industrial revolution，rapid expansion of commodity relations and extraordinary development of bank credit，the media of transactions and settlements was constrained to limited precious metal. production of precious metal may be occasionally synchronous with economic growth and development of economic relations，while the synchronism may last long. once this happens，the gold standard will weaken due to the lack of material basis for normal social and economic operation. indeed，the gold standard is the only reliable trusted and acknowledged currency form in the free competition era，however this only shows the conflict between the free competitive commodity economy and currency instinct in history，not the reasonableness and necessity of it.
