The Biggest Threat to the World Economy is...

That is the million dollar question, isn't it?

The biggest threat to the world economy in brief is industry. Or should i say the lack of industry.

I firmly believe that and i will attempt to draw a word picture on the perils of the world economy and of the financial apocalypse that might come of age soon. First i will draw a picture of a moment in time from 1927 when the stock market collapse of 1929 was unheard of. Then i'll fast forward to the present and mention robotics and IT technologies and other modern concepts.

If you are still with me at that point i will tell you why i think we are, or should i say the economy of the world is in deep trouble.

But you already know that. I still invite you to read on as there may be hope yet.

Here is a quick picture of life in 1927 and of how the economy rebounded in the years following the great depression that resulted from the 1929 stock market crash.

We are in Montreal, Canada and the year is 1927. This city is a small but booming metropolis. The entrepreneurial spirit is full on and commercial and industrial enterprises are raking in the money. The streets are lined with horses and buggies but there are just as many combustion engine automobiles in this changing time. In the evening these yet unpaved streets are dimly lit by electrical light posts. It's a pleasant scene where gentlemen and ladies find romance in the cafés and boutiques. There is money to spend.

Then, as swift as a raging wind, 1929 comes along and crashes the ambience. There is trouble in the air and economic fear turns to panic and then outright chaos.

For years to come the people struggle to rebuild living standards of the past and they find new wealth through funding a war machine and further on by building bigger and better machines and automobiles.

What's the point here. The point is that they had industry to fall back on. They rebuilt the world economy on industrial fundamentals. Roads, bridges, electrical grids.........all the way up to the computer that i'm writing on.

Todays biggest threat to the world economy is the same as it was in the years mentioned above.

INDUSTRY..INDUSTRY...INDUSTRY

In 2009 we are at the gates of hades with the financial and economic system. It's a global phenomenon. We have leaders debating on a matter of printing money, of inventing a base in order to save an economy driven global society that is without a truly stable underlying industry.

Sure we have IT technology and robotics that may come into play in the next decade. Scientists, roboticists, mechatronic engineers and others are busy in their laboratories inventing and perfecting the humanoid robot every day. It's a race to be the first to have a truly commercial product that will make the economy boom.

In the meantime the printing press at the mint is ordering ink and paper trying to save the combustion engine guys.

So there is hope for the future. The future is about robots, service robots, industrial robots, military robots, and robotic technology. But is a future industry led by the fabrication of machines that can do the work of men going to save the global economy.

If the answer is yes than by all means....roll the printing press. If the answer is no then IMO the leaders are delusional and they are selling the freedom of generations to come. They may have to control the masses with their war robots since those in power will be the only ones who can afford this future technology.

A failure to make the right choice here will make the great depression look like a walk in the park.

So what's the point here. Today's biggest threat to the world economy is...........