In 1944, with the Second World War still raging, US president Franklin D Roosevelt called for a new future for the global economy and how it was governed. This new global economic system – which included the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank – was agreed to by representatives of the Allied powers in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.
“We cannot afford to have [prosperity] scattered here or there among the fortunate or enjoyed at the expense of others,” said Henry Morgenthau, US treasury secretary at the time.
Morgenthau, who chaired the Bretton Woods Conference, explained later that tasking international institutions to help develop the world’s resources for the benefit of all its people would require them to extend financial support to countries in economic difficulty; bolster economic sovereignty through reliable access to international public finance; and discipline the abuse of economic power by big players, both states and corporations.
