As Friedman was preparing his paper, desperate efforts were being made at government level to reconstruct a system of fixed exchange rates, but it was already clear that even if that was successful the allowable bands of fluctuation would be wider than 1 percent permitted under Bretton Woods. Those involved in foreign trade would, therefore, be exposed to far greater risks of currency fluctuation than they had been in the 1950s and the 1960s. Bringing hedgers and speculators together in a currency futures market would make that market large and liquid, making it possible "to hedge at low costs and at market prices that move only gradually and are not significantly affected by even large commercial transactions" (Friedman 1971, p.

Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, loc. 656