Maybe "The End of the World as We Know it" would be more appropriate.  The second half of the 20th century was no less turbulent than the first half.  When OPEC declared it's oil embargo in 1973 the world economy started a downturn that it hasn't yet recovered from.  But, in all probability, it began with the Bretton Woods agreement in 1944 when 44 countries decided to let the Dollar become the international monetary standard instead of gold.  Another step towards the irredeemability of paper notes.  Part of the legacy of Richard "I am not a Crook!" Nixon, was the abandonment of Bretton Woods and $35 an ounce gold by the USA in 1973.  The world switched to a managed floating rate system without gold convertability or a stable dollar.  Without the restrain of some type of convertability and sky rocketing crude oil prices, these events led to an economic freefall during the 1970's.

By 1981, in the US, the price of gold had increased elevenfold, the consumer price index had tripled, and the money supply had doubled.  In an attempt to cut their losses, reign in inflation, and boost the dollar, the Fed pushed short-term interest rates up to 14% in 1981.  That got the world's attention!  This tight money policy effectively strangled inflation - and the economy with it!  Prices, profits and revenues decreased rapidly and the USA was thrown into a full blown recession.  This quickly spread to the rest of the world.  Countries that were heavy debtors were the first to give in to temptation, and by 1983 with the recession in full force, new bouts of rampant inflation were in full bloom also.  So when the early 90's saw the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was already precedent for simply blowing off your debt and printing up worthless paper.

In the last 20 years what was once the exception now has become a rule - when in doubt, let the presses roll!  Since then the world economy has been disrupted and distorted by numerous localized wars and foolish investments by the World Bank, the IMF, corporations, governments, and Silicon Valley wannabees.  Our global economy now runs on the SNAFU principle.

Specialized issues denoted with "PS" refer to the
Pick Standard Catalog Specialized Issues 8th Edition ( Colin R Bruce II & Neil Schafer, eds. ).