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Abstract
To put into perspective the problems of humanity on the eve of the twenty-first
century, I ask the reader to imagine a country which is subject to climatic
variations, needs to achieve a major structural adjustment of its macroeconomy,
is composed of several different ethnic groups, some of which are threatening
to secede, and is being called upon to participate in a regional common market.
Perhaps you thought of an African country of the capitalist Third World, such
as Chad. And of course you were right. But you could also have mentioned
Canada and other nations of the capitalist industrial world (including the
European Community), who now find themselves at the mercy of acid rain and
the greenhouse effect, who must reply seriously to the demands of native
groups, who are in full macroeconomic crisis with massive debt loads and who
must each find their place in a continental economic union.
Nor would you have been wrong if you had mentioned countries of the
former centrally planned socialist world, such as Lithuania, Georgia, Hungary
and the other members of the proposed Slavic common market, generally
northern countries with a short and variable season for agricultural production
in need of massive restructuring of the roles of the state and of the private
sector within the economy. In short, it can be argued that all the economies of
the planet are in the midst of a period of transition of unprecedented proportions.
Therefore limiting the term 'economies in transition' to countries of the
former Soviet bloc seems too restrictive. Each economy must determine the
weaknesses which must be corrected if it hopes to create workable strategies of
progress towards participation in a better world order.