Concerns
the future of relations between rich and poor
countries in the coming century.
Reshaping
the World for the 21st
Century evaluates post-World
War II economic development efforts in the United
States, in Canada, and, in Brazil, and in Mexico. It
argues that the proposal that the more fortunate
countries should bring prosperity to the less
developed ones failed: it did not stop the growth of
poverty, did not protect the environment
sufficiently, and did not promote human rights
energetically.
Smith
begins with a presentation of the two chief
development theories pursued after World War II, that
is, the growth oriented, market driven model, and the
communist ideology. She then chronicles the rise of
dependency theory, a newer, 1960s based development
perspective that was focused on the needs of less
developed third world countries. Based on personal
accounts of daily life in the megacities Sao Paulo
and Mexico City, and on a review of other development
analysts' conclusions, Smith evaluates the failures
in Brazil and Mexico--the transportation fiascos
spawned, the housing situation--and wonders how it
could be that the most advanced industrial powers
just didn't see that the poverty suffered by most
people in Latin American countries was worsening even
during the 1960s and 1970s, an era of relative
prosperity.
Written
in accessible language, often times casual and
humorous, without detriment to the topic's
importance…goes beyond the customary litany of
critiques to offer, and analyze, potential avenues
for improvement.
--Arturo Escobar, Anthropology, University of
Massachusetts
A
well thought-out work that exposes the dangers of the
present political and ideological malaise…a
disturbing and compelling scenario that resonates
globally.
--J. Nef, Political Science and International
Development, University of Guelph
Table of Contents
VIRGINIA SMITH's articles have appeared in Maclean's,
and in the Toronto Star. She is the co-author of Perpetuating
Poverty: The Political Economy of Canadian Foreign
Aid, and a social activist with
over 30 years of experience in community based
organizations: chiefly Latin America and with groups
that resist cutbacks imposed by globalizing
governments.
204
pages
Paperback ISBN: 1-55164-194-1 $19.99
Hardcover ISBN: 1-55164-195-X $48.99
Current Events
October
2001
