Barbaric counter-revolution : cause and cure
- London The Macmillan Press 1983
- 126 p.
With a substantial special introduction addressed to the situation in Britain, this book focuses primarily on the U.S. economy: how it came to its present position; the prospects for the current revival; what is required for sustained expansion in the 1980s and 1990s.
W. W. Rostow finds the roots of the current condition in the phenomenon he terms the Barbaric Counter-Revolution-the effort to wring inflation out of the economic system by the rigorous application of a restricted rate of increase in the money supply. This policy was launched by the Carter administration in October 1979, reinforced by President Reagan in mid-1980, and abandoned in August 1982. In the end, it provided the United States with no mechanism for rapid recovery that does not bring with it a return to high interest rates, resumed inflation, and, soon, another recession.
In what he terms a Civilized Synthesis, Professor Rostow sets forth a series of new policies that would permit rapid, sustained growth with inflation under control. He argues that fiscal and monetary policy must be joined by an incomes policy that would gear the rate of increase of wages and salaries to the average rate of increase in productivity. He explores how this could be accomplished within the context of American politics and existing institu tions. Finally, Rostow identifies four directions for investment that, together, would yield -sustained, rapid growth and full employment -the exploitation of a set of emerging new technologies (his Fourth Industrial Revolution) -the rehabilitation of the older, basic American industries -a necessary expansion of resource-related sectors -the rebuilding of the badly eroded U.S. infrastructure.
The Barbaric Counter-Revolution is a unique blend of analysis and prescription, its policy proposals the most coherent and wide-ranging thus far set forth. Essential reading for all concerned with the American economy and its impact on others, it is a work of major importance for understanding and resolving the current global economic crisis.