Making Do With Less, or Coping with Upton's Ghost,
Abstract
In November 1994 the United States witnessed an upheaval in its political system as the Republican Party regained control of both houses of Congress for the first time in four decades. This eruption within our own political system was largely unanticipated. It is an American parallel to the shaking of political systems across the world in countries as different as Japan and Italy. It is, of course, but a faint echo of the far greater tumult that accompanied what may be the greatest political event of our time-the collapse of the Warsaw Pact-and then of the Soviet Union itself. Accompanying this political revolution has been the no less profound transformation of the global economy brought about by the information technologies. The silicon chips in a modern car take up a greater part of its cost than the steel, and the ubiquitous computer terminal has transformed corporations, finance, and the very structure of business life. New centers of world economic power are emerging, particularly China which may, in our life time, surpass the United States in the size of its economy. These political and economic transformations are interlinked and may be only the beginning of larger convulsions. Some observers have pointed to a world in which changes in biotechnology could pose profound challenges to the core assumptions of our political system, namely that men (and women) are indeed born equal. The rise of China and the emergence of the successful economies of Asia have already begun to change the constellation of world politics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 26, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA299292
Entities
People
- Eliot A. Cohen
Organizations
- United States Army War College