Why would a core book be called The Deluge? A deluge seems to imply a catastrophic event. In this case, this catastrophe involved the world changing. We had a convulsion of nature, an atmospheric river, earthquake disturbance, and a remaking of the world. Old empires were shattered, and new ones emerged.
The core book opens up the world to a new view of American exceptionalism. Why did the rest of the world have to develop democracy? Why wasn't Great Britain threatening the American world order?
World War I is considered by many historians a totally unnecessary war. Yet , it led inexorably to the end of three long existing empires. Another outcome of the Great War was the emergence of the United States as a Super Power and the dawn of what some have called "the American Century."
The new world order that came out of the war was both military and economic in nature. The fragile economic order that evolved ultimately would not hold. The global depression that ensued would help lead the way to another global war.
Using the award-winning book, The Deluge by Adam Tooze as its core book, we will discover how events of over one hundred years ago have a significant impact on the present day. It is beautifully written, packed with delicious facts. Tooze, in this economic history, makes an excellent case that WWI "caused the seismic shifts in the financial and political landscapes." Furthermore, he posits that the failure of the liberal powers to manage this modern world based on military power, political commitment and money would eventually lead to economic instability and, ultimately, to the growth of fascism in Germany, Italy and Japan.
The major factor that might have mitigated these events would have been if the U.S., the one and only Superpower coming our of WWI, had used its unique position to press its position and anchor a new world order. Tooze asserts that the U.S. possessed the proper mind set and the economic and military tools to make such a solution but ultimately not the political will. Thus situation occurred in spite of Wilson's 14 Points.
