Technology Development Essay Example for Free

Technology Development Essay The causal link between development and historical time is often contested, although there is persuasive evidence of this link. Therefore, this essay will have the following structure: first of all, theoretical justification of the claim that historical time is connected with development will be given; secondly, several case studies will be analyzed; and finally, the counterarguments will be discussed and refuted. Starting with the theoretical explication of the link between historical time and development, it is necessary to admit that power in international relations has been defined differently in different historical eras. For example, once military capabilities were the only measure of a state’s power; nowadays, a variety of economic, social, and cultural indicators contribute to a country’s position on the international arena. Power, in turn, is associated with development, being its cause and consequence at the same time: only developed countries can attain power, which later accelerates their economic development through providing access to resources and capabilities of other countries. As concerns case studies that prove this point, American involvement in World War I and World War II will be analyzed. These wars have had a significant impact on the economic conditions of the United States, although they were not started or incited by America, therefore can be regarded as external historical influences. Different war involvements have had different influence on the U. S. economy. The legacy of the World War I is associated with the Great Depression; on the contrary, US entry in the World War II boosted economic growth. The World War I was not the main reason for the Great Depression, but almost all causes of this economic disaster are directly or indirectly connected with the war. For instance, if we speak about agricultural sector, during the war the government was subsidizing farms and paid absurdly high prices for wheat and other grains, but when the World War I was over, the federal government abruptly stopped their policies to protect farmers. As the result, agriculture suffered from such an unbalanced approach. Moreover, foreign trade suffered significantly. The Fordney-McCumber Act of 1922, Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1930 and a number of other lawsuits increased import tariffs without any economically sound reason. The result of the abovementioned tariff changes was that European businesses, devastated by the war, could not sell their products on the U. S. market in necessary quantities. It is possible to perceive the American entry into the World War II as an event that has actually ended the Great Depression in this country. Due to large numbers of citizens enlisted in the army, unemployment rates fell to record low levels during the war. Soldiers received decent salaries and were eagerly spending their money after the return from the battlefield. Strengthened consumer spending fueled growth and was a sign of restored consumer confidence. Large sums of defense spending pulled the U. S. economy out of the Depression for the ample reason that such fields as defense and security are very labor-intensive and created thousands of jobs to further decrease unemployment. The necessity to manufacture war supplies had given rise to a powerful military-industrial complex. While wars have had varying overall effects on the U. S. economy, they definitely fueled the development of the military-industrial complex. Wartime production of the military-industrial complex has been soaring throughout the American history. The military-industrial complex came to play a significant role in the overall structure of the economy. It is quite self-evident that the complex’s raison d’etre is the production of arms and equipment for subsequent use in military operations. Thus, military operations following the World War II have only strengthened the America’s leading position on the international arena, which in turn provided for beneficial trade agreements, migration of skilled labor to the U. S. , and a voice in international institutions. All the aforementioned factors are directly linked to economic development. Coming back to the link between the World War II and economic development, several other factors have to be mentioned. War machine demanded scientific innovations, so the war stimulated many important fields (Ruttan, 2006). The Marshall Plan was introduced after the war and helped to secure markets for numerous American products by providing financial help to devastated European countries. International monetary arrangements were reconsidered. Due to the spurt of economic growth and economic devastation of Europe, America became the world’s superpower. War is not necessarily an economic stimulus to the victor, but there was no destruction on American soil, so the U. S. was prosperous in the post-war era. The U. S. got involved in the World War II only at the closing stages of the conflict, when the victory over fascism was secured by its European allies. The U. S. entry in the World War II boosted the growth of the military-industrial complex, and that was one of the major reasons behind the decision to engage in it. This is an example of how a state can take advantage of historical circumstances to boosts its development. There are several strands of counterargument to the statement that development is connected with historical time. The most important strand argues that the development is associated solely with the country’s internal resources and capabilities: for example, natural resources are of greater importance for development than global historical conditions. However, there are examples that disprove this theory. For instance, Japan has very limited range of available natural resources, and their dependency on foreign energy sources is almost total. However, due to historic factors such as defeat in the World War II and Japan’s occupation by the Allied Powers, Japan adopted Western principles of state-building and social organization. Despite lack of natural resources, rapid westernization and modernization following the World War II allowed Japan to develop the most cutting-edge high-tech industry and become the second largest economy in the world. Therefore, the claim that internal resources are more important than historical time with regard to development does not hold. While the claim might have had some credibility in the past, when all important processes were confined to the borders of nation state, globalization changes the nature of those processes by reshaping all fields of human activity ranging from manufacture to governance. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that there is a strong link between development of a given state and global historical conditions. References Ruttan, V. W. (2006). Is War Necessary for Economic Growth? Military Procurement and Technology Development. New York: Oxford University Press.