WHO OWNS THE 21ST-CENTURY

THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL IN NOVEMBER OF 1989 MARKED THE END OF THE OLD CONTEST BETWEEN CAPITALISM AND COMMUNISM; THE INTEGRATION OF the European Common Market on 1 January 1993 will mark the beginning of a new economic contest. At that moment, for the first time in more than a century, the United States will become the second largest economy in the world. Japan, Europe, the United States - who will own the twenty-first century? This article is adapted from Thurow's forthcoming book, Head to Head: Coming Economic Battles among Japan, Europe, and America (William Morrow, 1992).