The creation of United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions was coupled with the strengthening of national institutions aimed at social protection. By combining an institutional framework aimed at international openness with one aimed at social protection it is possible to make openness socially beneficial and therefore politically feasible. However, these institutions are not sufficient since their benefits accrue primarily to citizens of the advanced industrial countries of the North Atlantic, and do not anticipate the extent to which technological and economic change can propel the openness of the world economy and undercut the social protection dimension.