"... the overtaking of Britain by the U.S. a century ago also involved two democracies, and the declining country found the process a painful one..." "Painful," I thought. "Painful compared to what? More painful than practicing the Hitler salute and sending one's Jewish neighbors off to the extermination camp?"

In a bold pre-emptive strike, the American economist Bradford DeLong has posted a rejoinder to my theme on his home Web page...