The great leap backwards

Economic crises beget political crises, so we’re already hearing warnings about the impact‹domestic and geopolitical—of the global recession. Gideon Rachman, a columnist with the Financial Times, has taken things a step further, extrapolating a portrait of the world in 2012 from the current drift of events. In Rachman’s dystopian vision, the politics of fear and jingoism prevail, lifting Sarah Palin to power in the U.S., restoring Putin to the Russian presidency, and unleashing protectionist trade wars around the world. About the only thing that sounds farfetched is Nicolas Sarkozy’s divorce from Carla Bruni and marriage to Madonna. Stock up on canned food, people.

Financial Times