A market is not politically neutral; its existence creates economic power which one actor can use against another.

The competitive nation-state system, with all its capacity for good and evil, is spreading in the Third World and is transforming that world.

The clustering of technological innovation in time and space helps explain both the uneven growth among nations and the rise and decline of hegemonic powers.

In short, the elimination of the financial legacy of Reaganomics could force the United States to make some exceptionally difficult choices indeed.

The dreams of "leaving it up to the market" or of returning to a politically neutral gold standard cannot succeed because the nature of the monetary system has a profound impact on the interests of powerful groups and states. Affected groups and states will always try to intervene in the operation of the system to make it serve their interests.

Trade is the oldest and most important economic nexus among nations. Indeed, trade along with war ha been central to the evolution of international relations.

Specialization makes the welfare of the society vulnerable to the market and to political forces beyond national control.