ABSTRACT
The year 1992 marked an anniversary of great significance for Europe—the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America. It was crucial because the America that loomed only dimly on the western horizon of Europe at the end of the fifteenth century was in due course to challenge the world preeminence that Europe had held for so long. A social system evolved in Europe that encouraged relatively lower birthrates than those in other parts of the world and permitted a greater per capita investment in material welfare. In more concrete political terms, there were really two different issues involved in the crisis that Europe faced as it emerged from World War II. The first had to do with the domestic political economy—the equitable distribution of goods and services—and the second with relations among the European countries. It appears possible that as Europe enters the twenty-first century, it will continue to move toward domestic decentralization and privatization of national economies.
