In 1937, the Fed drastically increased reserve requirements for no obvious reason, thereby producing the second leg of the Great Depression, as well as untold misery.

FORBES: When the Fed Makes Headlines, You Know We're In Trouble

As well as being burdened by unsustainable levels of external debt, all five economies share the misery of trying to regain lost competitive ground through internal devaluation, in which domestic costs are ground down year after year.

ECONOMIST: The Merkel memorandum

But perhaps the increasingly common realisation among the rich and well-off that their privileges can no longer be purchased at the expense of the misery of the many and the destruction of the planet might just be the spectre that can bring about a relatively peaceful transition this time around.

BBC: NEWS | In Depth | Viewpoints: The urban world in 2050

We are resigned to several weeks of daily discomfort and general misery, safe in the knowledge that conditions, our progress and general well-being will improve over the coming months.

BBC: Arctic diary: Explorers' ice quest