Now any such claims would seem preposterous. In both cases, the credit system got out of control, with too much lending to the private sector in 1980’s Japan and excessive government borrowing during the 2000’s in the eurozone.
许多年前也有人认为日本已经取代了美国，当时的欧洲似乎也在争夺全球经济霸权。如今看来这一切都近乎荒缪。上述两个地区的信贷系统其实都已失控，1980年代的日本向私人部门发放了过多贷款，而2000年后的欧元区国家政府又欠下了巨额政府债务。