The degree of access to, and use of, industrial technology in the broad sense is by far the primary factor distinguishing the world's rich nations from its poor ones. The world's rich nations are, with few exceptions, highly industrialized, while the world's poor ones are with equally few exceptions lacking in industrial technology. Industrialization is far more important to development than are natural resources; many impoverished nations have an abundance of resources, while wealthy and technically advanced Japan has very few natural resources.
The following discussion will explore the impact of current industrial technology on the developing countries. It will begin with a general discussion of the relationship between industrialization and development, sketch the historical development of industrialization and industrial technology, and then examine the various ways in which industrial technology impacts development today, followed by concluding remarks.
Industrial Technology and Development:
In the language used by international economists and students of economic development, the term "developed," as used of a country or economy, is interchangeable with "industrialized." The clear implication is that the contrasting terms, "underdeveloped," "less developed," or "developing" are effectively synonymous with "less industrialized." Those countries, particularly in East Asia, which in the last couple of decades have gone from "developing" to reach approximate parity with the wealthy countries of the West, are referred to frankly as "newly industrialized countries," or NICs.
This usage, and similar ones, would appear to be somewhat contradictory to the widespread assumption that we now live in a post-industrial era: that the age of steel mills has given way to an age of computers, or even in the most advanced countries to a "service economy." Should today's poorer countries cease worrying about being less indus...