One by one, various icons of the economic hegemony of the West are toppling. The collapse of the Twin Towers was a literal tragedy, but also a symbolic event that marked the end of the myth of the invulnerable West. On June 1, General Motors, the world's largest and most profitable enterprise for much of the 20th century, filed for bankruptcy protection.

GM became the world’s largest car maker in 1932 and remained so for 77 years. The GM initials may as well now stand for ‘Government Motors,’ as Washington will own 60% and Canada will own 11%. The “bankruptcy” is actually a hybrid of a bailout and a nationalization, as it will cost the government around $40 billion.