Historian Niall Ferguson warned that the world is sleepwalking into an era of political and economic upheaval akin to the 1970s — only worse.

Speaking to CNBC at the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy on 2 September, Ferguson said the catalysts had already occurred to spark a repeat of the 1970s, a period characterised by an OPEC oil embargo, Middle East war and high inflation. Yet this time, the severity of recent shocks was likely to be greater and more sustained.