Waves of immigration, rapid changes in commodity prices, the Great Depression, two World Wars, and technological advances – all have had an enormous impact here. More recently, the global financial crisis has been a stark reminder that everyone – even citizens in countries with sound “fundamentals” – is affected by major shocks, regardless of where those shocks originate.
25  Anyone interested in a simple quantitative summary in graphic form can consult Hannah Ritchie, for example, “Who has contributed most to global CO2 emissions?”, ourworldindata.org (2019). 10  Will it work? Let us hope so, even though we still do not know.