The 21st century was supposed to herald the dawn of a new age. The wars, famines and suffering of the last 20 millennia were to become a distant, fading memory, as scientific advances brought global peace and prosperity. Toward the end of the 20th century, a now forgotten US president even went so far as to officially proclaim the arrival of a New World Order, in which right, not might, would govern international relations. This bright future was not to be. First came a meltdown of the international stock and currency...