Punishment Park

Much of the turmoil shaping contemporary global politics can be traced back over half a century to the tumultuous era of Richard Nixon’s presidency, particularly his 1971 decision to sever the dollar’s ties to gold—a move known as Nixon’s Shock. Yet, Nixon’s legacy might have been even more catastrophic had he pursued another policy that, at the time, seemed disturbingly plausible. This chilling “what if” scenario w…