I n the former Soviet empire, the collapse of Communism created an opportunity for the victims of one failed utopian ideology to find another. The evaporating Soviet system left an ideological vacuum that was quickly filled as legions of Western advisers arrived to help translate the goals of political democracy and a market economy into […]
America and the World
Beyond Shock Therapy: Why Eastern Europe’s Recovery Starts in Washington
Laissez faire was planned. —Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation,1944 T he collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe demonstrated the failure of a command economy. The subsequent crash in output and employment induced by “shock therapy” has suggested the limits of laissez faire. Rather than replace the excesses of communism with excesses of capitalism, it is […]
Continental Drift: NAFTA and Its Aftershocks
The trade problem is much bigger than the treaty.
The Global Money Trap: Can Clinton Master the Markets?
If not, he will be their slave.
Conversion Then and Now
Turning swords into plowshares requires a plan.
The Faster Track: Should We Build a High-Speed Rail System?
A solution to traffic jams breaks the investment jam.
More Like Them?
The Japanese economic system violates many of the basic principles of the Adam Smithian economics. Instead of crying “foul”, maybe we need to learn how and why Japan’s model works.
Shock Absorber: Stabilizing World Oil
In the wake of the Gulf War, now is the moment to create a new framework for oil—and for international economic security.
Can the European “Social Market” Survive 1992?
What will happen to Europe’s high labor and environmental standards as the European Community creates its single continental market? The example of European regulatory federalism, bolstered by stronger political parties and trade unions, may be instr

