The postwar global system built around the US dollar, cheap Chinese manufacturing, and American military backing is breaking down — unsettling news for anyone invested in the world staying predictable.

• Globalization as we knew it is ending, and the deal that held it together since World War II is coming apart.
• That deal gave each region a job: China made the goods, Japan supplied cheap money, Europe bought and consumed, and the US enforced the rules.
• The dollar was the glue — countries had to use dollars to buy energy, which kept global demand for dollars high.
• The US military and the big banks backed it all up: follow the rules and you got investment and protection, break them and you got sanctions or war.

Outlook: The old setup still runs on paper, but the pieces holding it together are loosening, and countries are starting to test what happens when they stop playing along.