In Erik Larson's "Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania," the author explores the prevailing attitude prior to World War I, where many assumed that war had become an outdated concept. There was a prevalent, if simplistic, belief that the interconnectedness of national economies would act as a deterrent to conflict, suggesting that any war would be short-lived due to these entanglements.

This naive optimism reflected a misunderstanding of geopolitical tensions and the complexities of human nature, ultimately leading to the catastrophic conflict that reshaped Europe. The text illustrates how this belief in mutual economic reliance failed to prevent the outbreak of war, demonstrating the fragility of such assumptions.