The Petrodollar Conspiracy

The Petrodollar Conspiracy: The petrodollar system, which emerged in the 1970s, refers to the arrangement whereby oil is priced and traded in U.S. dollars, thereby ensuring a constant demand for the currency and bolstering its status as the world’s reserve currency. Conspiracy theorists posit that this system was engineered by powerful interests to maintain U.S. economic hegemony and control over global oil markets. They claim that countries that attempt to sell oil in other currencies, such as Iraq under Saddam Hussein or Libya under Muammar Gaddafi, are targeted for regime change by Western powers. While there is evidence to suggest that the petrodollar system has geopolitical implications, the extent to which it constitutes a deliberate conspiracy remains a matter of interpretation.