It is ironic that the international monetary system of floating currencies is based on a theory called the "Optimal Currency Area" that celebrates the freedom of central banks to print money at will. The idea is that total freedom to create money would promote global progress and employment, smooth out business cycles, and prevent bubbles and their associated crises.

The irony is that the system is obviously suboptimal. It goes against the grain of globalization, the process that is defining our economic times. To accommodate...