Why, then, did central bankers hold off from forcefully suppressing interest rates until the past 30 years or so? It mostly comes down to constraints. In the beginning of the last century, central banks had to adjust rates according to the rules of the international gold standard. Central bankers faced similar constraints during most of the Bretton Woods era after World War Two, which created a collective currency regime based on the US dollar and gold.
The only period similar to today was between the mid-1940s and the mid-1950s, the early years of Bretton Woods. Against the formal rules of the agreement, several countries maintained capital controls until the mid-1950s. This allowed them to keep rates low despite fairly high inflation.
https://www.ft.com/content/c4e10d2c-109a-40f5-a175-628d1db9c793
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