    17

    Am erican companies were asleep at the wheel about applying

    superconductors in consumer products.  The Japanese, on the other hand,

    were developing ways to use these futuristic materials to revolutionize

    everything from high-speed computer chips and power generators to simple

    electric wiring.29  We also invented then abandoned flat panel video screens--

    an essential element in laptop computers--and amorphous crystal solar

    panels30 (the ones that show up on everything from calculators to watches).

    Meanwhile, throughout the '80s our military budgets climbed

    dramatically.  Like the English under Victoria, we were trying to fool

    ourselves with the notion that weapons are the real source of strength.

    In the 1800s, the British lost their preeminence.  They did it by

    forgetting what counts the most in the pecking order of nations.  To stay in

    place, you have to run.  To get anywhere, you have to run even harder!31

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