It seems that without any warning, we have suddenly arrived at the dawn of a global depression that is the most severe since the last one 80 years ago. Between these two great economic crises many missed all the signs, aside from the fact that some American families were unable to pay off their mortgages. This book attempts to explain this mystery, using the simplest terms possible while touching on some of the most complex economic realities of our time.How did this happen? The world seemed to be going very well; political liberty and individual initiative seemed capable of reaching the far corners of the earth; poverty had begun to diminish in Asia and Latin America; worldwide economic growth was the fastest ever in history and every sign indicated that this trend would continue for decades thanks to rapid demographic development and abundant savings, which were being redirected toward sustainable development thanks to extraordinary technical advances. And for what to most seemed to appear without any warning, we have suddenly arrived at the dawn of a global depression, the most severe of the last 80 years. This book is attempting to provide a solution in order to prevent the crisis from veering into a worldwide one and in order that we never let ourselves be caught by it again.

雅克·阿塔利（Jacques Attali），法国经济学家、作家，学识渊博，长期活跃在法国政治舞台上和国际事务中。1981年到1990年期间，任法国前总统密特朗的特别顾问，并作为总统的私人代表参加当时的G7首脑会谈。在1989年柏林墙被推倒之前，雅克·阿塔利提议成立一家金融机构，以推动东欧国家经济的复兴，即后来的欧洲复兴开发银行（EBRD）。雅克·阿塔利为首任行长。阿塔利还是沛丰金融（PlanetFinance）的创始人、会长。1979年，阿塔利参与创建反饥饿行动组织（ACF）。

阿塔利是世界政府的倡导者。他认为，无国界的政府是民主制度的基本的而且唯一的保障。他对金融危机出路分析后得出的结论，也是必然要有一个监管金融的世界机构；有了这个机构，下一步才会有世界政府。