What we are witnessing in Greece and beyond, in Europe, is an absurd but not entirely unexpected spectacle. During the past couple of decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, there has never been such a powerful agglomeration of political risk. Fear reigns supreme not just among investors.

Greece is a pile of shattered illusions. The euro has been decimated. The upcoming global turnaround in interest rates is hitting the Greeks with full force.

Moreover, it threatens all Western European welfare states that have lived beyond their means for decades. After all, the steady fall in interest rates has added fuel to the fire of welfare spending in Europe over the past 40 years.