The book focuses on the role political processes play in solving certain key problems which have accompanied economic development in both the developed and less developed nations of the world.
By breaking down the factors which define development into clear cut categories, namely population, food, energy, the environment, and technology, the author offers a useful approach to understanding the problems the world is facing today and will continue to face for the foreseeable future. The text provides a useful guide and resource for those who wish to grasp the implications of the rapid growth of the world's population, world hunger, the threat of nuclear war, uncertain energy supplies, acid rain and deforestation.
Table of Contents:
Preface xi 1 The Wealth and Poverty of Nations 1
The Orthodox Approach 2
The Radical Approach 5
The Growth-with-Equity Approach 8
Conclusions 12
Notes 15
2 Population and Development 17
The Changing Population of the World 17
Causes of the Population Explosion 24
Population Growth Affects Development 26
Development Affects Population Growth 30
Governmental Population Policies 34
The Future 39
Conclusions 43
Notes 44
3 Food and Development 46
Food Production 46
How Many Are Hungry? 47
Causes of World Hunger 48
Food Affects Development 51
Development Affects Food 53
The Green Revolution 62
Governmental Food Policies 63
Future Food Supplies 66
Conclusions 71
Notes 72
4 Energy and Development 76
The Energy Crisis 76
Responses by Governments to the Energy Crisis 80
The Effect of the Energy Crisis on Third World Development Plans 84
The Relationship Between Energy Use and Development 86
The Greenhouse Effect 91
The Energy Transition 94
Nuclear Power: A Case Study 103
Conclusions 111
Notes 113
5 The Environment and Development 117
The Awakening 117
The Air 119
The Water 123
The Land 126
The Workplace and the Home 132
The Use of Natural Resources 135
The Extinction of Species 139
Environmental Politics 142
Conclusions 144
Notes 146
6 Technology and Development 149
Benefits of Technology 149
Short-term versus Long-term Benefits 150
Unanticipated Consequences of the Use of Technology 153
Inappropriate Uses of Technology 156
Limits to the "Technological Fix" 158
The Threat of Nuclear War: A Case Study 160
Conclusions 166
Notes 167
7 Alternative Futures 170
Doom 171
Growth 175
Steady State 177
Conclusions 179
Notes 181
Selected Bibliography 183
Index 189
