Russian leader Vladimir Putin warned that society risks a return to world war if there’s no international effort to ease existing global tensions and imbalances. Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s virtual Davos Agenda conference on Jan. 27, he offered a grim prediction and noted that the current era shows parallels to the 1920s and 1930s before the “catastrophic World War II.” “Nowadays, such a heated conflict is not possible, I hope,” Putin said. “Because it will mean the end of our civilization. “But I’d like the reiterate that the situation might develop unpredictably and uncontrollably if we sit on our hands doing nothing to avoid it. There’s a possibility that we might experience an actual collapse in global development that might result in a fight of all against all.” Such a prospect, he said, would result in a “grim dystopia.” Wealth inequality, political polarization, and international tensions will exacerbate the …