ABSTRACT
The world did indeed seem locked in an irreconcilable duel between capitalism and socialism in the 1960s as Cuban revolutionary leaders developed a highly centralized regime under the aegis of the international socialist camp they viewed as eventual victor. The Berlin Wall was emblematic of the schism in Europe. In addition to the Cold War, a seemingly intractable cultural or civilizational divide with Asia appeared to confirm the uniqueness of the liberal democracies of the West. Few suspected, much less predicted, that profound transformations associated with globalization—interconnectedness and interdependence from increasing flows of goods, capital, technology, ideas, and peoples mediated by market forces—would bring about a world rush toward convergence. 1
