The dramatic modernization of the Asian economies ranks alongside the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution as one of the most important developments in economic history.

Start with the idea that you can't repeal the laws of economics. Even if they are inconvenient.

It says something about this new global economy that USA Today now reports every morning on the day's events in Asian markets.

The major challenge for the United States is whether it can become the first outward-looking, continental, nonimperialist power in history.

The United States basically accepted protection abroad as the price of post-war recovery. Now, that these countries have caught up to our level of prosperity, it is time for them to catch up to our level of openness.

It was wrong to allow Stalin to shape the European landscape of the 20th century. It would be even more wrong to let him shape the landscape of the 21st century.

Now is the time for us to strike. We must strengthen our foothold in Asia, to ensure no nation overtakes us.

Global capital markets pose the same kinds of problems that jet planes do. They are faster, more comfortable, and they get you where you are going better. But the crashes are much more spectacular.

In this age of electronic money, investors are no longer seduced by a financial 'dance of a thousand veils.' Only hard and accurate information on reserves, current accounts, and monetary and fiscal conditions will keep capital from fleeing precipitously at the first sign of trouble.