ABSTRACT
In the chapters of this book I have shown how moderns are a truly global tribe that manages to synchronize social and cultural trends as well as national policies so that from the outset the nations appear like a flock of birds. That is because, for one thing, nation-states are in essential respects copies of each other, with the same basic institutions, such as a legislature, government, and ministries. Second, within the states people acting in different roles and positions establish transnational links and organizations, which further standardize those roles and positions.
