We have had four years of solid global growth, of minimal economic shocks, of low inflation, of easy credit – and therefore four years of room for policy to respond to those shocks that did occur. We have also seen years of every country but China and the US exporting to China or the US without protectionist or exchange rate pushback. As far as macroeconomics goes, this is as good as it gets.

Despite this prosperity, the response of citizens over the past year or two has been to throw the incumbent rascals out, be it in Canada or the Philippines, India – or possibly Thailand and Italy – and even to seek out actively governments with long-failed populist policies as in Bolivia, Venezuela, Belarus and, to a lesser degree, Poland.