Poverty from the Wealth of Nations: Integration and Polarization in the Global Economy since 1760 FROM THE PUBLISHER
In Poverty from the Wealth of Nations, M. Shahid Alam presents an analysis of the evolution of global disparities that goes beyond earlier neo-Marxist critiques, both in its conception and the marshalling of evidence. He moves beyond their narrative by inserting two additional asymmetries into the global economy - those created by 'unequal races' and 'unequal states'.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
Alam (economics, Northeastern U.) does not attribute global disparities to the unbalance of economies alone, but to "unequal races" and "unequal states" as well. Alam argues that global inequality really emerged after 1800; that the concentration of manufacturers, capital and technology in the "advanced" countries was not the result of market forces alone; and that the industrialized countries used military power to colonize the non-industrialized countries, extract rents from them and acquire exclusive control over their markets. "Lagging" countries in Europe and Latin America, asserts Alam, escaped colonization because of the population's racial affinities with Europeans. Alam constructs a four-part taxonomy of sovereignty (sovereign countries, dependencies, quasi-colonies, colonies) which helps illustrate that a loss of sovereignty promoted integration, but retarded manufactures, human capital formation, and economic growth. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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