5 - The North

Summary

The most striking feature about the North in the postwar period has been the increasing integration that has taken place within it. Genuine interdependence has come about under the American umbrella, allowing states in both Southeast Asia and Europe to become formidable players in the world economy. One claim that has frequently been made is that there will accordingly be convergence within capitalist society, with every country moving to a similar set of institutions. We reject this view in the first section of this chapter: capitalist society has been diverse in the past, and there are strong reasons to suggest that it will remain so. We then consider a second claim, curiously different in character from that of the first in that it suggests that a leading edge within capitalist society may challenge the United States. This was once believed about Japan!