THE CAPITALIST WORLD SINCE 1945

1
CHAPTER 29

• THE CAPITALIST WORLD SINCE 1945

2
Nationalism and Integration

• Nationalism has continued to be a divisive force.
• Ethnic warfare often dominates headlines.
• But a countervailing trend towards integration
  has emerged in the last half century.

3
European Integration

• Consider the economic integration in Europe.
• The six states that formed the Euro-pean Coal and
  Steel Community and the European Economic
  Community in the 1950s consolidated by forming
  the European Community (EC) by 1967.

4
European Community (EC)

• The EC doubled its membership by the late 1980s.
• By the beginning of 1993, it established a
  thoroughly integrated "single market."

5
European Union (EU)

• Reconstituted itself as the European Union.
• Was poised for further expansion of its
  membership to fifteen by 1995.
• Most of its members went on to launch a common
  currency (the Euro) in 1998.

6
Other Integrations

• In response to Europe's success with economic
  integration, Canada, Mexico, and the United
  States began in 1994 the North American Free
  Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
• The Pacific rim states agreed to establish an
  Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation area (APEC).

7
United Statess Role

• Since the end of World War II, the United States
  has generally promoted economic integration in
  Europe and Asia.
• Also tries energetically to ensure that regional
  trade zones do not become protectionist blocs.

8
Expanding World Trade

• The U.S. has had noteworthy success lowering
  barriers and expanding world trade by promoting
  the
• World Bank
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

9
West Germany and Japan

• Boosted by substantial American economic aid.
• Rapidly recovered from wartime devastation.
• Generated formidable economic competition for
  major U.S. industries.

10
Prestige

• Financial strength and economic productivity have
  gained greater prestige in world affairs.
• The significance of military forces has seemed to
  diminish.

11
The Soviet Unions Collapse

• A military superpower with a relatively backward
  economy.
• Its collapse seemed to accentuate the focus on
  economic clout.

12
Industrialization

• Has spread to virtually all parts of the earth.
• Holds out possibilities of generating greater
  wealth.
• Has also aroused increasing concerns about global
  pollution, a byproduct of economic development.

13
Ecological Damage

• Indeed, ecological damage has emerged as one of
  the major factors fostering a growing sense of
  international interdependence.

14
YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND

• The establishment of postwar international
  economic institutions.
• Major technological innovations since 1945 and
  some of their world-wide implications.
• Threats to international stability posed by sharp
  increases in oil prices and enormous debts.

15
YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND

• Developments in the United States since the end
  of World War II.
• Japan's economic revival and successful
  development of democratic institutions.

16
YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND

• Events in postwar Britain, France, West Germany,
  Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Greece.
• Shared concerns about protecting the environment.