from top-dog status over the next half-century or so it will be Zakaria's native India, which has the IT know-how, English language, entrenched democratic traditions and vast consumer hinterland necessary to become a new economic superpower, while China could easily slip back into warlordism, population explosion and chaos if the Communists lose their grip on power.

An Indian-led world would not threaten our grandchildren's chances of leading a civilized life, whereas a world run according to the dictates of the present nationalist regime in Beijing would be a deeply unpleasant place. "People worry about sharing a planet in which one country has so much power," says Zakaria about the United States. Yet once isolationism and protectionism returns to America, the rest of us will worry about a world in which America does not wield its enormous power for good. In the meantime: God Bless America!