Here we go again (1) I caught a bit of the Marketplace show on NPR on the way home from work today. The host, David Brancaccio, was talking with Dr. Daniel Yergin, who mentioned that world trade doubled during the 90s. Leaving aside whether that is a net positive for humanity or not, it is pretty spectacular. Yergin pointed out, however, that the last time similar growth occurred was in the late 19th century and into the early twentieth.
During that period the world was coming together as it never had before. The telegraph connected every part of the planet, and steamships and steam engines powered a new level of international commerce. The growth came to an abrupt stop with a terrorist's bullet in Sarajevo in 1914. After that came a world war, a great depression, another world war, and a cold war.
Worldwide trade does not do well in times of turmoil. You have to wonder if the violence in Palestine could trigger another cycle.
10:58:55 PM 
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