The British economic historian Harold James takes a look at the seven greatest global economic shocks since 1850. And he also sees many positives in these traumatic shocks. Every shock requires new strategies.
In retrospect, the oil crisis of the 1970s turned out to be the driving force behind the global economy.
It’s a comforting thought that there might be some good in the bad. At the moment, this hope is being clung to with particular vigour. Because the world is out of balance, little seems to fit together anymore: In China and Russia, autocrats announce the tariff; bombs fall again on European soil; Energy sources are used as a weapon; inflation is skyrocketing; and the global supply chains, which have been trimmed for efficiency, have been working more poorly than well since the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic.