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War & Progress
International trade prior to World War II
The price of goods reflected the local availability of the product, demand, production costs and the value of a shared currency within that market system. Goods were generally non-perishable, high value items, and trade was conducted mostly by near neighbours and those with shared languages. Merchant trade routes into Asia became significant sources of cultural exchange. Quantities of imported goods were restricted by prohibitive transport costs, travel time exceeding shelf life, and competition from the relatively inexpensive local products or alternatives.
The British, Spanish and French Empires, all improved the wealth of the dominant nation at the expense of their colonies. Although most expansionist regimes believed that the spread of their preferred religion was the reward for their colonies, the politicians were aware of the many economic and strategic advantages of global linkages. During the late 19th century, use of bulk ice allowed perishable food items to be exported. Salting and corning of meats and then canning of fruit and vegetables began the food export trade between distant nations. Until this was developed food trade was limited to localised exchanges. Traditional communities practised forms of agriculture, which have slowly developed to fit the geophysical environment. These farms have adapted both food crops and farming methods, which sustain both the community and the environment. European settlers to New World areas interrupted these long-standing forms of agriculture. They usurped the Indigenous ownership traditions and interrupted the nomadic migrations of communities, which both allowed areas to recover from human occupation and to take advantage of seasonal crops and prey abundance. Settlers introduced new crops and animals, which thrived, as they had no adapted predators in these new settings. Many of these have since become significant pests, including rabbits, cats, rats, dogs, pigs and foxes, which threaten the survival of native species. They introduced new infectious diseases, to which the Indigenous community had no immunity. In Australia there are many examples of attempted genocide against the Indigenous people of the area. In one generation the Yorta Yorta tribe of Southern NSW, were reduced by 80% by deliberate European reduction. Critically they introduced intensive sedentary forms of agriculture, which altered the soil, nutrient and water distribution, fundamental to problems of salinity threatening much of Australian agriculture today. They altered the flow of rivers, as part of the attempt to modify Inland Australia to be like productive areas of Europe. However Australia has a different geological history. It is an ancient, infertile dry continent, and is unsuited to this style of production. It only achieved modest levels of productivity by heavy use of added fertilizer, and irrigation, which has added to the current environmental challenges . Each country produced agricultural products for local consumption with the surplus used for trade. Self-sufficiency was valued as it protected the nation's food supply in times of conflict. Many European nations suffered severe food shortages during the 1st and 2nd World Wars, when their external food supplies were disrupted. The developed economies grew by adding value to imported 3rd World raw materials. These processed commodities were marketed to the consumers within the workforces of the developed world. Third World commodity prices were limited by their unequal bargaining power, as most resources could be purchased from other suppliers. They were competing against other suppliers for market share. As transport improved many nations introduced policies to promote consumption of their own products while imposing restrictions and tariffs on imported goods, as a strategy to maintain consumption of local products while providing full employment.
Post World War II Developments In the post war period the USA became the dominant world power. Social and economic theorists saw the world divided into three sections:
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The governing body, the Council, guides the work of the OECD, and again is made up of dominant economy nations. These and other international development groups promoted the belief that Westernised development was achievable for all nations provided they adopt policies built on democratic government with economies which were integrated within the global market system. From a sociological perspective, this phase of 'Institutional Developmentalism' had several ideals; each nation would achieve modernity equal to 1st World Nations, and that the difference in development would diminish over time.
The World Bank This organisation provides finance for its mission to fight poverty and improve living standards. It has 5 associated institutions.
The World Bank provides Poverty Reduction Strategies, and requires progress reports from these nations to measure how effective the measures have been. Many developing nations experience difficulty in providing the level of documentation required for additional resources.
Post-War Capitalism to Globalisation During the era of 'Developmentalism', some believe that economies were stabilised through nationally based economic management, featuring replication of localised industries and services. During the 1970's, the altered linkages lead to new global economic management, which featured lines of specialisation and new, increased areas of marginalisation; replication became a redundant concept. In this new adaptation of globalisation, global elites replace the concept of development for all nations, which grew out of desire for post -war peace, with one where the financial and Transnational Corporation's shareholders become the new ruling class.
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