Blackwork Design for Goldsmithwork with Monkey, Birds, and Insects (ca. 1582–1616) | Mathais Beitler / Public Domain The following text was first presented on April 22, 2025, as a distinguished lecture presented by the Henry H. Arnhold Forum on Global Challenges and the New School for Social Research. I want to trace the outline of an era that has closed. It ran from roughly the end of the Cold War until now, although it’s been in crisis for nearly a decade.