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When borders don't matter: development and global culture

Q: What does the 'North-South Divide' represent?

The glaring imbalance was increasingly referred to as the 'North-South Divide' in light of the fact that the wealthy nations of the world were located primarily in the Northern hemisphere, while their impoverished counterparts were to be found south of the equator.

7 important questions on When borders don't matter: development and global culture

Which two antithetical models of economic organization confronted each other?

In the aftermath of World War II, two antithetical models of economic organization confronted each other across an ideological divide that appeared to be unbridgeable.

On one side stood the Soviet-inspired command economy, where an authoritarian state owned the means of production and regulated the marketplace by setting prices, wages, working conditions, and production goals.
On the other side of the ideological divide were the defenders of Western-style market capitalism.

What was communism designed to, according to its defenders?

According to its defenders, communist central planning was designed to ensure economic equality, a decent standard of living for all citizens, and a more rational use of human and material resources.

How did Soviets view capitalism?

For Soviet propagandists, the selfishness inherent in unregulated capitalism had been largely responsible for the twentieth century's two horrific world wars and for the economic collapse of the 1930s.
A new paradigm was essential if humanity hoped to avoid future conflict, and it involved first and foremost strict state oversight and regulation of the domestic economy.

What did proponents of free market now insist?

Defenders of the market now insisted that their fundamental concern involved the preservation of political democracy and individual freedom.
Under their reading of recent history, state control over economic affairs was the precursor to state abridgment of personal liberties - the short road to dictatorship; competitive economies alone undergirded democratic polities.
If democracy were to flourish in the aftermath of the most destructive war in human history, acceptable levels of economic well-being for all had to be provided under conditions that maximized personal initiative and rewarded innovation.

What was the Treaty of Rome about?

In March 1957 the member states of the ECSC signed the Treaty of Rome, which called for a new organization dedicated to the complete elimination of tariffs and to the free movement of capital and labor across national frontiers.
The new European Economic Community (EEC) was an immediate success in supranational governance.

When did the Keynesian consensus reach the status of near-orthodoxy in the capitalist West?

The Keynesian consensus reached the status of near-orthodoxy in the capitalist West in the early 1970s.
Even President Richard Nixon, a moderate Republican, declared himself a Keynesian in 1971, adopting deficit spending and wage and price controls in an effort to curb rising inflation and boost employment.

What does the "North-South Divide" represent?

The glaring imbalance was increasingly referred to as the "North-South Divide" in light of the fact that the wealthy nations of the world were located primarily in the Northern hemisphere, while their impoverished counterparts were to be found south of the equator.

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

A Concise History of the World Since 1945 | 9781352010206 | W M Spellman

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