To social democrats, man is a maker.
Productive work is central to human dignity and happiness.
Yet in America steady work at decent wages is in danger of becoming something beyond the reach of many of our citizens. This new stage of economic development involves a shift to new productive processes, the emergence of new service industries, a vast extension and refinement of the international division of labor, the globalization of commerce, investment, information and know-how, and an intensification of the competition for markets. In this new industrial revolution, no single country has taken the leading role, the way England did in the first industrial revolution. The United States, while inventing much of the technology of this revolution, has often fallen behind in the decisive area of production. Production has become international.