One of the people profiled in this book about Asia's economic future is Zen- zabro Yoshida. His family for generations grew wealthy selling timber in a protected market. But after massive pressure from this country, the market opened. American companies can deliver logs in Tokyo at less than Yoshida's break-even point. Americans may think of Japanese businessmen as ruthless, calculating tigers, but that is true only in sectors that compete abroad.
Domestic companies are the opposite.
Yoshida's company treats its employees more paternally than do American firms. It won't lay off employees or cut salaries. No one will have a job. Governments everywhere make their choices. The United States, more than other large countries, chooses the market.