The US/China relationship going significantly south would have, umm, interesting consequences. Would Wal-Mart survive? How much better would the US financial

The US/China relationship going significantly south would have, umm, interesting consequences. Would Wal-Mart survive? How much better would the US financial position be if all of the Chinese holdings are abrogated? What is China's political stability if the flow of money was interrupted? How can the west resurrect a tech manufacturing sector (or any manufacturing sector)?... It goes on and on. Given the inter-connectedness of the world vs. the isolationism/autarky of the 30's the impact of conflict is magnified. Yes, countries could recreate the various "changes" of the 20th century, but that's not a quick process. And Paul Kennedy would (has?) argue that the US today and Britain in 1900 are quite similar. Edit/addition: The US political system is currently broken. However, it has shown amazing resiliency when faced with an external threat. I would be willing to bet that few will care what a Kentucky clerk says if it's Sputnik all over again. And there's several strong military traditions in Europe which bear remembering.