ABSTRACT
When the USSR and East European communist governments collapsed in 1989–1991, self-congratulatory comments could be heard throughout the West about the "victory of capitalism." The capitalist governments of Asia, have intervened heavily in the management of their economies—far more so than most of their counterparts in the West. Classic economic theory suggests that a high degree of governmental interference in making excessive "choices" for the private sector is doomed to failure, and there have been such failures in Asian capitalist states. The strategies and circumstances of the growth policies pursued by Pacific Asia's capitalist economies have varied considerably from one country to the next in terms of timing, sequence, and prioritization. In addition to ensuring a political environment conducive to capitalist development, the US has directly or indirectly sought to foster economic growth in South Korea. Ideals in the West, combine the rugged individualism of the venture capitalist with the contractual bureaucratic management of the master in business administration.
