The New Realities: In Government and Politics, in Economics and Business, in Society and World View

Challenging conventional wisdom, management-guru Drucker argues that America's sagging economic status has not resulted from a failure of its manufacturing base, but instead from the worldwide collapse in the 1980s of commodity exports and prices. The success of ``Japan Inc.,'' in his assessment, illustrates the importance of a close government-business relationship, not the need for central planning. Author of some 20 books, Drucker has provocative things to say here on excessive military spending (``perhaps the major cause'' of our loss of competitiveness) and environmental problems that, in his view, demand a ``transnational'' approach. His vision of a ``post-business'' society, however, where ``knowledge workers'' flourish and voluntary ``third-sector'' organizations forge bonds of community, seems unrealistic. Among the topics he broaches are the ``Russian Empire,'' school reform, ``information-based organizations'' and management as a liberal art. (June)