ABSTRACT
Justlikebuildings,economieswithanunderlyingrotdonotsinkslowly intothepavement.Forquitealongtime,theygoabouttheirbusiness apparentlyinfineshape,whileoutofviewthesupportbeamssilently corrode.Then,oneday,thewallscavein.SoitwaswiththeSovietUnion whenMikhailGorbachevstartedpullingonthethreads.Soitwaswith Japanwhenthebottomfelloutofthestockmarketin1990.
