Decisive forces in world economics / by J.L. Sampedro

In our age of space research and underdeveloped countries, of telecommunications and iron curtains, we live in a world of contradictions. Nowhere is our feeling of uncertainty more prevalent than in the economic sphere. What are the forces that lie behind the economic systems of today? Is capitalism becoming obsolete? Is socialism reverting to capitalism? What system will be adopted, or developed, by the emergent nations?

These are some of the vital questions raised in this book. Its aim is to uncover for the ordinary reader the social, technical and economic forces which underlie the pattern of everyday events in the world today. After describing such forces as population explosion, technical acceleration and social change, it classifies the resulting economic systems and analysés trends in the capitalist, socialist and developing countries, pointing to the probable outcome in the years ahead. Professor Sampedro's conclusions are based not on abstract thinking but on a wealth of historical and sociological detail which gives colour to the book and makes it highly readable.