ed with the reforms which called for increased empowerment for labor while continuing to shut them off from any type of meaningful political influence (Ashraf, 1995, 33-35).
Iran today is a nation of over 64 million people. Its population has been growing at an average of 3 percent annually since the early 1970s. While Iran is the Middle East's most populous nation, it is also one of the leaders in adult literacy in that region of the world. In 1986, approximately 62 percent of the population was literate which represented an increase from 15 percent in 1956. With such a large population of educated and dissatisfied people, it is not difficult to understand why the Revolution coalition of 1979 found plenty of backing from within Iranian society (Iranian revolution, 1996).
Unquestionably, gross domestic product (GDP) as well as real individual incomes rose dramatically during the Pahlavi regime (Encyclopedia Iranica, 1992, 687). Several factors contributed to the rising economic affluence. The improved education system and closer ties to the west, which were both initiated in the late 1950s, gave rise to a new, ambitious middle class consisting of independent professionals civil servants, military personnel, white collar employees, and an universities based, intelligentsia (Ashraf, 1995, 32). As a result, the per capita income averages rose from approximately $170 in 1963 to $2,060 in 1976 (Iranian revolution, 1996, 868).
The other factor contributing to Iran's wealth in the 1960s and 1970s was her huge deposits of natural resources; particularly oil. Its oil reserves are conservatively estimated at 93 billion barrels or 10 percent of the world's totals. Its natural gas reserves are the second largest in the world and are estimated at 20 trillion cubic meters. As a result, from 1963 to 1976, Iran's GDP grew an annual average of 10.5 percent (Iranian revolution, 1996, 868).
Perhaps the tragedy of Iran is that littl...