"Like apes and chimps, we copy the mannerisms of our masters, down to their speech patterns, choice of clothes, automobiles, and style of homes." (p. 170)
Bloom uses the rise of Japan's economy in the 80's as an example of reactions to dominance. I remember America feeling under economic attack and businessmen using phrases like "Business is war", but I didn't realize Japan actually did top America in many categories for a time.
Quote:
By the mid-eighties, Japan had more money controlling more resources in more countries than any other nation in the world. Its foreign exchange reserve was the world's largest. It was the world's leading exporter and source of loans. The shares on Tokyo's stock exchange topped in value those on the Big Board in New York. Japan possessed 54 percent of all the cash in the world's banks. The top twelve global banks, in fact, were wholly Japanese. The average Japanese per capita income had surpassed that of U.S. citizens, who still spoke of themselves mistakenly as the weatlthiest in the world. (p. 171)
Bloom describes the admiration and imitation of Japan by nations lower on the totem pole. He doesn't mention how the focus has returned to the U.S. after Japan's real estate and stock market bubbles burst...
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at: 10/30/05 4:30 pm
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