As much as I consider myself a realist on matters related to the global economy – indeed some call me a pessimist – never would I have believed that in my lifetime I would be seeing anything remotely resembling the 1930s. I did invariably remonstrate with those who in the booming last couple of decades would claim that “globalization was irreversible”. Nonsense, globalization has been repeatedly reversed throughout history. But I never expected it would go quite so far.