BRITAIN, as the leading capitalist country in the world, had a current account deficit vis-à-vis the newly emerging countries, such as Continental Europe and the United States, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In fact it is the nature of the leading country to have such a deficit, since it provides the scope to others to grow within the international currency arrangement presided over by the leading country.The US likewise has a current account deficit vis-à-vis today’s emerging countries.