Yes Willie-O exactly. The other (and major) point that I neglected to mention is the rise of globalism (borne out of organizations such as IMF World Bank WTO etc. )and the erosion of the nation state. It seems that capitalism may have won the cold war but is it necessarily the best option. IE. multinational corporations that are not really subject to any laws. The concept of patent and copyright which gives the owner protection but no responsibility. The fact the life and genetic material can be patented (how did they ever manage to sneak that through the court systems). I think the battle in Seattle is symptomatic of a backlash to that system and just shows how there is a huge population that very little or no voice. Another is the failure of Gen modified foods - many producers are turning away from GMOs because consumers dont want them.

There are other things- the emergence of the third world the tribal warfare in Africa and even in the former Yugoslavia. How do we explain that? I think its something that happened in Europe too except they sorted it out some time ago. After a change in balance of power there is usually some adjustment - witness the USSR. The USSR should not be ignored, while the economy may be a 10th of what it was there is huge potential there too although it may take a couple generations. Bear in mind that in the 19th century Russia was the worlds largest grain producer. Petr