As social democratic parties the world over shift toward the free market, the differences between the United States and other Western democracies are growing increasingly narrow. Does it still make sense to speak of the United States as the exceptional nation? By Hoover fellow Seymour Martin Lipset.

When the Asian economies were booming, certain Asian leaders credited the region’s growth to a unique set of Asian values. When in 1997 the Asian economies crashed, many Western critics attributed the fall to . . . a unique set of Asian values. Who was right? Both were wrong. By Hoover fellow Charles Wolf Jr.

Four years after the nation’s welfare system was overhauled, we have indeed seen the end of welfare as we knew it. By Hoover fellow Gary S. Becker.

Thanks to government overregulation, the distribution of water in much of the United States is grossly inefficient. Hoover fellow Terry L. Anderson and Clay J. Landry offer a plan that would lead to more efficient water use, discourage wasteful overconsumption, and lessen the impact of droughts.