True, the rapid spread of digital technology is forging powerful economic and social links across nations and regions. But this globalization process, rather than eliminating nationalism, is ironically also giving rise to a new era of national economic and political competitions. The Digital Revolution may plow through national boundaries like a tornado, but wherever it touches down it rapidly develops indigenous characteristics and local (i.e., national) competitive power.

Indeed, globalization notwithstanding, each nation's individual competitive strength in world markets is what most strongly determines the quality of life and living standards of its citizens - and this will likely continue to be the case for generations to come. Even a casual look at global employment patterns, for example, shows that these remain overwhelmingly national and regional in character and are still influenced primarily

In the United Kingdom, new communications systems are in many ways more advanced than those in the United States, owing to the UK's history (at least until the recent passage of the telecom reform bill in the US) of less restrictive regulations. Cable companies such as TCI are already deeply involved in the local British telephone market, and phone companies such as US West and NYNEX are involved in consortia to deliver cable service.

The point here is not whether such national and regional peculiarities of Internet development are good or bad. What's important is that we recognize that while the ineluctable force of the Internet is, indeed, forging powerful links between societies around the world, the Digital Revolution will inevitably take on a variety of national shapes and colors, in accordance with each country's particular economic, social, and cultural realities.

Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin notes that in the post-Cold War era, America's power and prestige may ultimately depend less on being a military superpower than on being an information and entertainment superpower.

And even as growth in the US home-PC market is slowing, the next 10 years will see a boom in European sales of PCs, modems, and CD-ROM drives that could well give much of Europe rough parity with US penetration rates.

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