In retrospect, last weekend's meeting of world leaders to deal with the global economic crisis was fated to succeed. While such gatherings usually produce stale rhetoric and mere exhortations to take substantive action, this meeting produced an 11-page document with enough content to qualify as a genuine action plan. The prospect of a global financial meltdown that threatened to rival the Great Depression is a powerful motivator.

The global crisis is only starting and financial losses worldwide are already thought to exceed $900 billion. As the slowdown hits the real economy, jobs will be shed; unemployment rolls are swelling by the millions and that number will steadily grow. Government action is required, but it is not enough: Concerted multilateral action is the only guarantee of success.

The speed and scale of the crisis have focused the minds of politicians worldwide. The real question was whether that would be enough to overcome the inevitable grandstanding that occurs whenever world leaders convene, or the divisions between free market advocates like U.S. President George W. Bush and those who demand more regulation, a group that is championed by French President Nicholas Sarkozy. The fact that Mr. Bush is a lame duck and his successor, Mr. Barack Obama, will not be taking office until Jan. 20 also dampened expectations for last weekend's meeting, hosted in Washington by Mr. Bush.