ABSTRACT
The foregoing chapters suggest a number of striking conclusions, they ask for analytic comment, and they raise questions that will remain open but that can be stated with cogency and precision. We begin with a few broad comparisons--ofthe astern European cases with the West and of the welfare states of northwestern Europe with the United States. This leads us into questions of how to explain the contrasts (as well as the similarities) and how to assess their impact on the future of democracy.
