The Politics of Development: An Introduction to Global Issues

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