More than half of global trade is conducted in dollars, and the United States is, by some measures, still the world’s largest economy as well as the world’s dominant political and military power. But since Donald Trump took office in January, he has attempted to use America’s position for political gain while undermining the pillars of the United States’ financial dominance, such as the rule of law.

Little of this behavior is new, economist Mona Ali explains in an interview with Jacobin. The global financial system is, at its core, a political system. However, Trump and his advisers are rocking this system more radically than any US president has done in a generation. In a wide-ranging discussion, Ali explains who benefits from the dollar’s dominance and whether the world’s reserve currency has any plausible challengers.