ABSTRACT
Until recently the United States had a relatively closed economy which dominated the rest of the world. Under those conditions Americans enjoyed a great deal of independence. Today, however, our economy has become much more open and is no longer dominant. We consume more than we produce, we depend on continuous inflows of foreign capital, and we are now the world's largest debtor nation. All of this has caused a significant loss of autonomy. Our policy options are much more constrained now than they were a generation ago.
