1973

Several interlinked events happened in 1973 that had a great influence on subsequent world political and economic order:

US withdrawal from Vietnam

Clear sign of declining US hegemony.
The US had pumped an enormous amount of money into Asia, helping fuel economic growth and exacerbate currency problems (see below).
As US policy priority, diverted attention from other issues of global leadership.

Oil Prices (founded 1960)

OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) tripled price of oil at end of 1973. It had been $3 dollars a barrel since 1957, now raised to $10.
Ended (along with Nixon to China in 1972) possibilities of Third World unity.
Contributed to recession.
Enormous dollar flows to oil producing countries passed through in Western banks, and OPEC countries then invested their money in these banks. This helped destabilize dollar and create enormous liquidity.

Recession (1973-5, 1979)

Crisis of overproduction spurred by rise in oil prices. It was centered in US, and was unique in that it was accompanied by inflation as a result of high liquidity.
Commodity prices fell. Third World countries outside Asia have not recovered. (Some even explain collapse of Soviet bloc as result of collapsed Third World markets).
Investors searched for profitable investments, encouraging deregulation to facilitate this search. Seen as origins of "flexible" capitalism.

End of Bretton-Woods

1958-1971 most currencies pegged to dollar, which was backed by gold with prices remaining steady at $35 an ounce.
But with growing trade, most countries could not entirely control capital flows or the value of their currencies on informal markets (especially with rise of transfers within multinational corporations).
Increasing amounts of dollars flowed overseas as countries preferred to hold foreign exchange reserves in dollars, but also as part of US aid and military budgets. About $700 million dollars per year (net) flowed out of US in the 1960s. Value of dollar decreased in informal markets--an especially large problem in face of Vietnam War and first US trade deficit ever in 1971. US also feared it did not hold enough gold to back the dollar.
By August, 1971 the price of gold rose to $44 an ounce. The US unilaterally withdrew gold backing for dollars held abroad. In the words of US Secretary of the Treasury John Connally, "Foreigners are out to screw us. Our job is to screw them first."
By avoiding deflationary measures, the US avoided the kind of austerity solution that it encouraged other countries to undertake. This was also a clear sign that the US was unable to manage the global economy.
Dollar and other major currencies exchanged on open market by end of 1970s.

Beginning of Deregulation

Demise of Bretton-Woods was the first step in deregulation of international and domestic economic policies.
Free-marketers argued that crises of 1970s were the result of neo-Keynesian policies of excessive government intervention.
By 1980 World Bank and IMF were attaching liberalization, deregulation and austerity policies to their loans.
Rise of "flexible" capitalism. Business and capital could move increasingly unhindered by law and regulation.
Global liquidity (amount of money in circulation) continues to rise. Much of that money held in US treasury bonds, sustaining huge deficits in US budget and current accounts budget. Currency speculators and international institutions increasingly dominate economies of poor countries.