Kevin Duffy on the information age

The world is still in the early stages of a third economic wave - the transition from an industrial to an information-based economy. Innovators tend to lead, whereas imitators tend to lag such waves. As the world's best imitators, the Japanese capitalized on the ending of the industrial age. As the world's best innovators, Americans should be the main beneficiaries of the beginning of the information age.

By the end of this century, the question may not be "Will the U.S. be No. 1?" but "Will Japan still be No. 2?"

~ Kevin Duffy, "Will Japan Outpace U.S. Innovators?," The Wall Street Journal (letter to the editor), December 13, 1988