Despite worldwide rhetoric about free trade and the global economy, the leading economic powers have done little to address the most insidious form of protectionism - the inherently unstable international monetary system. In this analysis, Judy Shelton calls for a unified international monetary regime - a new Bretton Woods, to lay the foundation for worldwide stability and prosperity in the post-Cold War era. In outlining steps toward a new world monetary structure, this text elevates the needs of individual producers - who actually create wealth in the global economy - over the programmes of governments.