In an international gold standard system, the primary duty of each Central Bank is to keep gold movements at a minimum through manipulation of the interest rate. John Maynard Keynes was opposed to the uniform pattern of behavior which obtains under the international gold standard. Keynes points out that under the operation of the gold standard the price level must be everywhere the same. In the economic environment of the 'twenties, it more properly meant that it had to be the same as that of the United States. Keynes' dislike of the gold standard stemmed largely from the fact that, by tying the bank rate to external considerations, it does not permit an autonomous monetary policy for the attainment of domestic equilibrium. The primary reason why Keynes was opposed to the international gold standard is that it makes independent national action impossible.