While this book is not futuristic it does attempt to define the concerns, the issues and the controversies that will be realities in years to come. The author contends that the toughest problems we face are those created by the successes of the past - the success of the welfare state, the invention of the fiscal state and the knowledge society. It does not confine itself to American topics but deals with government, society and the economies in Japan, Western Europe, Russia and in the developing countries. It does not focus on what to do tomorrow but on what to do today in contemplation of tomorrow. Within its self-imposed limitations it attempts to set the agenda.