Towards a World of Plenty

Here is a vivid account of global economic development at a time of extraordinarily rapid change. Barbara Ward, the well-known economist, delivered the Falconer Lectures at the University of Toronto in 1963. In them she makes an expert and timely assessment of the role that the West must assume in order to make effective use of the astonishing plenty which is concentrated today in the control of less than 20 per cent of the world's population.

In the first part of the book Miss Ward deals with growth in the developed economy, describing the course of European economic development from Ricardo and Malthus through Karl Marx to Jean Monnet; within a brief compass we are given a brilliant and exciting account of this progression of events, with a lucid exposition of the way that challenges have been met and the economy kept moving. The author assesses the role of the extension of the franchise and the growth of trade unionism in the creation of the first mass market, and goes on to discuss the long-term economic implications of the two great wars.

In the second part, "Poverty and Expansion," she traces the economic history of colonialism and discusses the roles which must be assumed by the former colonial masters if any stability is to be assured.

She stresses the need for continued international co-operation through such organizations as OECD and the European Common Market: their support is considered crucial to assure continued growth and to prevent a repetition of past economic disasters. She inisists, too that external trade policies must be devised which will stimulate, rather than discriminate against, economic growth in the developing nations. Such co-operation is seen as the responsibility of the West in the face of the economic and political dependence which are the legacy of colonialism. Miss Ward argues that the acceptance of this responsibility is essential not only politically and economically, but morally as well.

This is a strong plea for the kind of civilized behaviour which alone can vindicate past offences and help to justify the privileged positions of the wealthy minority of the world's population. It will be read eagerly by all who are familiar with the writings of Barbara Ward, and by all who are concerned to close the appalling gap between rich nations and poor nations.