Long before today's electronic media made us aware of articulate "world opinions" across the globe, there were other dramatic international com munications. One current of opinion was expressed by the many gener ations of different nationalities who "voted with their feet" and settled down in North America. To them and to many others, the hallmark of the United States since the beginning of the republic was the freedom of choice for common people. This image was inspiring enough to build up the free institutions which together with the country's open frontiers broke the hold of mass poverty. So, options brought to the masses are America's trademark in human civilization. Nowadays, when advanced industrialization and electronic media are penetrating the world and opening new frontiers everywhere, the chal lenge from the optional society - often called "Americanization" - be comes a source of global competition, imitation or opposition and shapes the profile of our time. What is the character of this new optional society so early displayed in the United States but today emerging in many other countries and com municated wherever nations confront socio-economic problems of their own? Can analysis of its economics and communications reveal its inter national message? More than two decades of research in those fields and our experience as Americans by choice have made us try.

Long before today's electronic media made us aware of articulate "world opinions" across the globe, there were other dramatic international com munications. One current of opinion was expressed by the many gener ations of different nationalities who "voted with their feet" and settled down in North America. To them and to many others, the hallmark of the United States since the beginning of the republic was the freedom of choice for common people. This image was inspiring enough to build up the free institutions which together with the country's open frontiers broke the hold of mass poverty. So, options brought to the masses are America's trademark in human civilization. Nowadays, when advanced industrialization and electronic media are penetrating the world and opening new frontiers everywhere, the chal lenge from the optional society - often called "Americanization" - be comes a source of global competition, imitation or opposition and shapes the profile of our time. What is the character of this new optional society so early displayed in the United States but today emerging in many other countries and com municated wherever nations confront socio-economic problems of their own? Can analysis of its economics and communications reveal its inter national message? More than two decades of research in those fields and our experience as Americans by choice have made us try.

This essay has grown out of an attempt to find the answers to problems basically inherent in the making of historical re search. Widespread among humanists is a vagueness of con cepts which many times makes it difficult or impossible to translate our way of thinking into the terms of natural science or vice versa. It sounds, sometimes, as if humanistic studies were a world of its own, rather than a part of the natural world we all1ive in. How long can we go on believing that there are different kinds of knowledge ~ To this conflict of theory, another is added: a feeling of urgency about cultural problems that are too often left to the future to solve. History is not, as some natural scientists tend to believe, a matter of no practical consequence. It is a virulent factor in political and social conflicts and a basic substance in the structure of our personalities. The present dynamic epoch raises with particular stress the problem of understanding the conditioning influence which the past exercises upon the present in each particular community. Such a substance is neither a toy for pastime hobbies nor an innocent weapon in the hands of dictators. Which is, then, the responsibility of the historian, both for what he does and for what he abstains from doing ~ The necessity to stay independent in order to approach objectivity makes for no easy answer.

Dovring explores the limits of science as causes of ignorance. Some topics examined in these essays are problems with our ways of knowing and the impact of emotion on objectivity. He argues that reality consists of designs--of things and processes. While most designs we might think of cannot exist, those that can exist add up to a tool box of creation which contains the detailed laws of nature, many of them synergisms. Reality must conform to this web of necessities, hence the danger of unchecked virtual reality.

These lines of thought are then applied to evolution as creation and history. In a final essay, Dovring explores topics upon which science should concentrate. This book will be of interest to scientists as well as the lay public interested in the theory of science and questions of truth and faith.

A worsening economic crisis due to the shift in wealth over the past decade is the central concern of this carefully documented study. It profiles the current status of income inequality in the United States and discerns disturbing trends for the future. A wealth of data are collected, evaluated, and simplified into a straightforward look at both the economic changes brought on by misguided reforms of the 1980s and a proposed system for measuring income inequality which may help clarify the issues pertinent to the debate.

Folke Dovring perceives the current U.S. economy as an imminent threat to our democratic system, and urges increased awareness of the variables which will effect its return to a healthy state of balance where income inequality, necessary to a certain degree, sustains productivity and individual incentives. A general overview of the facts and problems associated with income distribution, viewed from historical, geographical, and sociological perspectives, establishes the study's priorities, and is followed by the development of criteria which can more accurately estimate the nature and extent of income inequality, moving the study closer to recommendations for systematic public policy which may promote continued economic growth. The urgency with which Dovring addresses this topic and the thoroughness of his presentation will compel scholars and policymakers, especially those interested in poverty economics, to give immediate attention to the issue of economic inequality through informed, meaningful discussion.

As domestic and worldwide petroleum reserves dwindle, America's energy situation continues to worsen. Farming for Fuel offers a major investigation into producing methanol from biomass to replace reliance on petroleum fuels. Dovring's treatment of the topic is thorough and well-reasoned. He suggests that current problems facing the U.S.--vulnerable oil imports, farm surplus production, soil erosion, and air polution--could be eradicated by methanol production on a large scale. The proposed solution, if adopted, would also bring about profound changes in the national economy, including more decentralized industrial location. Dovring's conclusions are revolutionary, challenging general agreement on methanol use, future energy supplies, and energy policy. His innovative work will supply policy-makers and academics with a unified perspective on energy problems and an up-to-date summary of recent data.

Development is necessary in all countries, not only the so called underdeveloped' or developed' countries. So begins this comparative analysis of agricultural growth and development around the world, not just in developing countries. Unique to this volume is its comprehensive coverage of numerous countries around the world and its in-depth comparison of economic change in relation to historical and geographic diversity. These features, along with ground-breaking conclusions put forth by the author, will interest not only economists, economic journalists, politicians, and business leaders seeking to understand the workings of the international community, but also scholars and students of development, agricultural economic, and comparative economics.

"Productivity and Value" takes a critical look at the generic concepts of productivity as they are used in most of the conventional literature. In this compelling book, the author challenges the concept of total-factor productivity as a valid indicator of successes or failures in economic policy and in the economy generally. Unique to this book is the consistent distinction made between economic and physical expressions. The author examines the difficulties when physical and economic measures are mixed. Instead, he proposes that productivity, as a measure of progress in production, should be limited to single-factor of key commodities, such as land, labor, energy, and capital. Such a measure, he claims, will be more realistic and will also come closer to being understood by the public.