Fortunately, this is no longer a realistic option. The reality of the atomic bomb precludes large-scale war between world powers; governments intervene, upon global agreement, with large-scale bailouts; and today’s Western societies and emerging powers are much richer than those still devastated by World War I. In 2007, global assets (including stock, private and public debt, and bank deposits) amounted to $194 trillion – 343% of annual global GDP.