THE decade is ending, and there can be little argument that the 1960s was a time of turmoil, of bitter protest and brutal violence, of confusion and finally, of near despair over the American destiny. This week, in a special section, TIME takes a long look back at those troubled years and finds a fascinating parallel in 19th century Europe, when men also called for a total revolution in human behavior.

But what now--what lies in store for the U.S.--and for the rest of the world--in the 1970s? In a second part of the section TIME attempts to answer the vital questions. The story describes the vast changes to come in the nation's social and political climate, indeed in the entire quality of life.

The special section was produced by TIME's Essay staff under the supervision of Senior Editor John Elson. "The Past Decade: A Romantic Era" was written by Edwin Warner and researched by Raissa Silverman. Gerald Clarke and Harriet Heck were responsible for "The Next Decade: A Search for Goals." In their search for answers about the future, TIME's correspondents around the world interviewed experts in all areas of concern. Watching how our predictions turn out will be enormously exciting. But we believe that reporting on events as they occur will be even more so.

Each year since 1924, TIME's Business section has in one form or another taken its own look at the U.S. economy in the year just ending and in the year ahead. This week's cover story concentrates on the economy's two main worries: inflation and the possibility of recession. As we followed business news through 1969, it became clear that more and more economists were paying closer attention to the ideas of University of Chicago Professor Milton Friedman, who stresses the importance of money supply as the chief tool in fighting inflation and recession. Hence our year-end review features Dr. Friedman on the cover as it surveys the economy and his theoretical approach to it.

The principal article was written by Gurney Breckenfeld, edited by Marshall Loeb and researched by Nancy Jalet and Sue Raffety. Writers Clell Bryant and George Church, Researchers Eileen Shields, Claire Barnett and Lois Timnick worked on the separate features. Major contributions to the entire project were made by the members of TIME's Board of Economists [Nov. 14], who offered their own predictions on key segments of the economy during 1970.

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