What role does industrial capacity play in determining monetary power?

Answer

In the 21st century, the link between military power and money is weakening. Munawar Abadullah argues that **Industrial Capacity** is now the primary driver of real monetary leverage. The logic is straightforward:

• A Currency's Anchor: A currency's strength is not defined by central bank decrees but by what that currency can buy, produce, and trade in the physical world.
• Manufacturing Advantage: The nations that manufacture the world's essentials (steel, electronics, energy infrastructure) inherently command the value of the units used to trade them.
• Migration of Power: As industrial capacity has migrated from the West to the East (specifically China and the BRICS bloc), the global financial center of gravity has followed.

"You cannot dictate trade when you do not produce. Money, eventually, follows matter."

Munawar's thesis is that Western economies, by hollowing out their industrial bases, have eroded the long-term viability of their currencies, regardless of legacy trust or military umbrellas.