| ISBN: 978-1-55587-620-3 $65.00 | ||
| 1996/220 pages/LC: 95-33086 | ||
Weede contrasts the rise of the West over the past 500 years with the stagnation in the great Asian civilizations, arguing that political constraints on Western rulers allowed the conditions of prosperity, i.e., law and liberty, to develop. Now, however, the West suffers a slow erosion of individual liberty and enterprise caused by an expansion of collective decisionmaking, rent seeking, and the welfare state, while the dynamic, growing East Asian societies increasingly hold individuals responsible for the consequences of their actions.
Capitalism, Weede avows, is a prerequisite of democracy; and free trade promotes the global diffusion of capitalism and, ultimately, of democracy and democratic peace. Nevertheless, special interest groups within Western society enforce misguided policies—policies that simultaneously undermine democracy, Western economic primacy, and a "peace by trade" strategy that would be promising if only the West were capable of executing it.
"This well-written book will certainly stimulate debate on issues relating to economic development and political order."—Alvin Y. So, Contemporary Sociology
"A bold, synthetic exercise across both levels of analysis and disciplines ... Weede has produced a creative and useful framework for helping us think about the interrelationships among economics, society and politics. In addressing big questions, Economic Development, Social Order, and World Politics generates provocative insights that are of use to students of political economy at both the domestic and international levels."—Mershon International Studies Review
"A good introduction to public choice analysis for students of international relations."—Choice