Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : the national idea -- The origins of economic nationalism -- Economic nationalism and high-volume production -- The corporation and the national interest -- The national champion -- The national bargain -- The presumed problem -- From high volume to high value -- The new web of enterprise -- The diffusion of ownership and control -- The global web -- The end of the national champion -- The coming of irrelevance of corporate nationality -- The perils of vestigial thought -- The three jobs of the future -- A digression on symbolic analysis and market incentive -- American incomes -- Why the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer -- The education of the symbolic analyst (I) -- The education of the symbolic analyst (II) -- The problem restated -- The decline of public investment -- The uses of vestigial thought -- The new community -- The politics of secession -- Who is "us"? -- Afterword : national identity in a post-Soviet world.

There is no longer such a thing as an American economy, say Robert Reich at the beginning of this brilliant book. What does it mean to be a nation when money, goods, and services know no borders? What skills will be the most valuable in the coming century? And how can our country best ensure that all its citizen have a share in the new global economy? Robert B. Reich, the widely respected and bestselling author of The Next American Frontier and The Resurgent Liberal, defines the real challenge facing the United States in the 21st century in this trail-blazing book. Original, readable, and vastly informed, The Work of Nations is certain to set a standard for the next generation of policy-makers.