One can state that the Bretton Woods system was programmed to an eventual demise. Remark on this proposition.
The answer to this question is associated to the Triffin paradox. Under gold-exchange system, the reserve-currency country must run BOP deficits to supply reserves to the world economy, however if the deficits are large & persistent, they can lead to a crisis of confidence in the reserve currency itself, finally causing the downfall of the system.