In George Lodge's classic account, now appearing for the first time in paperback, the author argues that America is in the midst of a great transformation, comparable to the one which ended the medieval era in the West. The old ideasindividualism, property rights, competition, the limited state, and scientific specializationhave become increasingly irrelevant in a world of necessariliy huge organizations and limited resources. The United States today has become a considerably less self-assured nation, lacking a sense of direction and control, profoundly uncertain about authority and legitimacy.