The GFC was quite scary at times. President Trump worries me much more.

If Trump keeps half his promises, November 8 2016 can go down as the end of the American Century. After 75 years, it would mark the end of America's claim to political leadership of what's been loosely called "the free world".

While the US often enough betrayed its ideals, said one thing but did another, it continued to profess goals that much of the world could look up to, could aspire to, hunger for.

There was self-interest in the US accepting the burden and benefits of leadership that followed the Second World War. It meant an outward-looking US could try to mould a more outward-looking world. The capitalism-based American empire defeated the communism-based Soviet empire by weight of economic power and choice. The US sought to develop a world that suited its own interests which included freer trade. In time, the resultant globalisation demonstrably benefited most of the world. One plus one could indeed add up to more than two.