Poverty, Population, Development in Historical Perspective

The rich nation is the novelty, and the development that makes entire nations rich is itself the pivotal development of modern history (Asa Briggs, British historian, 1963) The object of the paper is to place the present issues of world poverty, development, economic transition, and demographic change into proper historical perspective. The specificities of post-World War II developments are singled out, and the perspectives they offer for the history of modes of production and international relations highlighted. Some speculations concerning possible long run developments conclude the paper. JEL Classification: P0, 010, N0