From Morning Star
''No, the worst thing about the 1930s was what they led to, how the miserable decade ended - in a war which cost over 50 million human lives and caused unprecedented destruction.
One thing that may seem to have changed is the scheduling. In the 21st century we have had the wars first - the invasion of Iraq, the occupation of Afghanistan and the destruction of Yugoslavia all occurred while the great "boom" was in full swing.
However, to pursue the parallel a little further, World War II did not start in 1939 if you were Chinese, Spanish or Abyssinian. Their world war started as early as 1931. These were the preliminary wars, the initial scramble by the powers to improve their relative positions prior to the climactic confrontation for global domination.
From the Rape of Nanking to the destruction of Fallujah, preliminary wars themselves exact a murderous price. But when the big powers get down to direct conflict the bill goes up exponentially.
A world war has, happily, not kicked off for 67 years. However, the entwined factors that kept the prospect at bay for most of that time - the power of the Soviet Union on the one hand, and the unchallenged supremacy of the United States within the capitalist powers on the other, are no longer operative.''
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