Economic trends far the Eastern and Western Civilizations were compared ove
r the past three centuries and extrapolated into the next one. The converge
nce of these trends following World War I was deflected following World War
II. Without this mar, the combined economies of the Far East countries app
eared likely to surpass the industrial output of Western countries around t
he turn of the 20th and the 21st centuries. The 1941-1945 war with Japan de
layed the projected intersection of these trends. Extrapolation of the post
-World War II trends to 2040 suggests that, without deflection of these tre
nds, the economies of the Far East countries would be likely to surpass the
economies of the Western countries around the middle of the 21st century.