ABSTRACT
This chapter explores three of those developments—antagonism between rich and poor nations, globalization, and economic restructuring and information technology—and the risks they posed for nations and for individuals. The economic interdependence of nations—which is only one form of globalization, albeit a leading one—arose in the period from 1870 to 1914, waned between 1914 and 1945, and then exploded. In rich and poor countries alike people expressed growing anxiety about how globalization in this form would play out. The differentiation itself arose in the period 1600-1900 from the active engagement of a few countries in trade and manufacturing in ways that allowed them to control the mechanisms that set prices for raw materials, manufactured goods, and labor. People living in rich countries maintained and enlarged their lead over people living in poor countries in income, housing, and the conditions of material life. Meanwhile, many developed countries also pushed ahead in pursuing educational goals.
