In response to earlier crises in government, there have been three great revolutions, which have brought about the nation-state, the liberal state and the welfare state. In each, Europe and America have set the example. The Economist writers suggest we are now in the midst of a fourth revolution in the history of the nation-state, but this time the Western way is in danger of being left behind. The race is not just one of efficiency, but a race to see which political values will triumph in the C21st: the liberal values of democracy and freedom or the authoritarian values of command and control.
