I mostly agree, except that I don't think it's "about" to happen. I think there are going to be major problems over the next 5, 10, 20, 50 years. It's hard to put a date on it, and as other people have said, the last 30 year were OK and the next 30 might be too.

There are threats which have been present for a long time. Terrorism is arguably less of a problem now than it was 20 years ago, at least in the UK, because the IRA issue seems to be resolved. Pandemic flu is more of a risk because of international travel, but we've had international travel for decades now.

I am more concerned about the new issues. Peak oil is a big one, and not just oil but all mineral resources peak. ("Peaking" isn't the same as running out; there's always more in the ground, but production declines when previously it grew because the resource is harder to get to. The easy stuff has been mined now and its downhill from here.) I think much of our finance is built on sand. The recent crisis is just a stressor and the real issues are deeper. There will be other stressors, such as the pensions gap. Some of these are just down to demographics: the baby boom means we will have too many old people one day.

Global warming I think is probably real, although I know that's not a popular opinion in the US. Although there are models which say effects on the UK could be very rapid (if the Gulf Stream stalls), most likely we are talking decades. That said, I wouldn't buy a house on low ground near the coast now.

The trouble is, when I'm so vague about the timing it's easy to dismiss it all.