THE TWO CASES

We consider in this chapter the preconditions for take-off: the transitional era when a society prepares itself—or is prepared by external forces—for sustained growth.

It is necessary to begin by distinguishing two kinds of cases history has to offer.

There is first what might be called the general case. This case fits not merely the evolution of most of Europe but also the greater part of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. In this general case the creation of the preconditions for take-off required fundamental changes in a well-established traditional society: changes which touched and substantially altered the social structure and political system as well as techniques of production.

Then there is the second case. This case covers the small group of nations that were, in a sense, ‘born free’: the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and, perhaps, a few others. These nations were created mainly out of a Britain already far along in the transitional process. Moreover, they were founded by social groups—usually one type of non-conformist or another—who were at the margin of the dynamic transitional process slowly going forward within Britain. Finally their physical settings—of wild but abundant land and other natural resources—discouraged the maintenance of such elements in the traditional structure as were transplanted, and they accelerated the transitional process by offering extremely attractive incentives to get on with economic growth.