The world has been beholden to US consumer demand since the end of the Bretton Woods system (which ended when Nixon unpegged the dollar from gold in 1973) up un

The world has been beholden to US consumer demand since the end of the Bretton Woods system (which ended when Nixon unpegged the dollar from gold in 1973) up until the collapse of the US center of gravity in 2008 (from which we haven't really recovered). Prior to that it was the opposite: Demand came from the periphery, and the US was the world's factory. Where we are now is uncharted waters. US demand is required to fuel the Global Surplus Recycling Mechanism. With its absence, China does not have enough domestic demand to replace the US and does not have enough power to start its own GSRM.