Trade Development & Foreign Debt I - Rights Reverted: A History of Theories of Polarisation and Convergence in the International Economy

This text presents an alternative history of the major theoretical concepts that have shaped international economics since its inception in the mercantilist epoch. Present anti-orthodox views on trade and development, far from being the preserve of a few marginal heretics of each generation, are revealed to have a long and honourable pedigree. Debates over economic doctrine are not merely academic matters; they concern the destiny of nations. Thus, the orthodox "laissez faire" and free trade positions adopted by the World Bank and IMF have had devastating consequences for the developing nations of the Third World, trapped into reliance on unstable export commodities and spiralling debt burdens. Polarization, rather than convergence, has been the result of free market principles. The author's analysis demonstrates the urgency of debunking economic orthodoxy and reconsidering the value of protectionist and structuralist approaches to trade and development.