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CIIAPTER 2
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W W Rosl,os.The S.agesof FcoromicGo\ah q \on-Communisl hfip://www mtholyoke.edu/rcadliûtrel/ip€./rostow.
htm
in the regions,in the handsofthose who ownedor controlledthe land. The landownermaintained
fluctuatingbut usuallyprofoundinfluenceoversuchcentralpoliticalpowerasexisted,backedby its
enlourage ofcivil seûantsandsoldiers,imbuedwith attitudesandconholledby intereststranscending
theregions.
In termsofhistorythen,with thephrase'traditionalsociery'wearegroupingthewholepre-NeMonian
in China;thecivilizationofthe MiddleEastandtheMediterraneaq
world : thedynasties theworldof
medievalEurope.And to themwe addthe post-NeMoniansocietieswhich, for a tim€, remained
untouchedor unmovedby man'snew capabilityfor regularlymanipulatinghis environmentto his
economicadvantage.
THE PRECONDITIONS
FORTAKE-OFF
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ww Rostow.The StâsesofEconomicGroù,th:ANon-Communist... htto://www mtholvokeedr/acâd/intrel/iDe/rostowhùyr
THE TAKE-OFF
We com€now to the greatwatershedin the life ofmodem societies:the third stagein this sequence,
the ake-off The take-offis the intervalwhenthe old blocksandresistancesôosteadygroMh are
finally overcome.The forcesmakingfor economicprogress,which yielded limited bu6ts and enclaves
ofmodern activiq/, expandandcome1odominatethe society.Growth b€comesits normalcondition.
Compoundinterestbecomesbuilt, as it were,into its habitsandinstitutionalstructule.
During the take-off,the rate ofeffective investmentandsavingsmay rise from, say,5 0%ofthe national
incometo 100% or more;althoughwherehealy socialoverheadcapitalinvestmentwasr€quiredto
createthe technicalpreçonditionsfor take-offthe investmentratein the preconditionsperiod could be
higherthan 5%, as,for example,in Canadabeforethe 1890'sandArgentiûabefore 1914.In suchcases
capital importsusually formeda high proportionoftotal investmcntin the preconditionsperiod and
sometimesev€ndurirg the take-off itself, asin RussiaandCanadaduring their pre-1914railway
booms.
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WW Rostoq TbeStagesofEconomicG.owth:A Non-Communist.. http://wwiv mtholyok€.edu/acadlintrel,4pe/rostowhtm
su$alneo.
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WW Rostow-TheStaqes
ofEconomicGrowthrANon-Communist... http://rlww.mtholyokeedl/acaMnEel/ipe/rostow.htm
BEYOND CONSIMPÏON
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WW Rosloq the Stages
ofEconomiccrowth: ANon-Communist... http://www mtholyoke.edù/âcad/intrei/iDe/rostow.htrn
Thesestagesare not merely descriptiv€_They are not merelya way ofgeneralizing certainfactual
observationsaboutthesequence ofdevelopment ofmodemsocieties. Theyhavean innerlogicand
continuiry.They havean analyticbone-structure,rooûedin a dynamictheoryofploduction.
* W.W Rostow,TlreProcessofEconomic
Grov,th(Oxford,l953),especiallychapterrv.
AIso'Trendsin thÊAllocationofResoucesin SecularGrowth,',chaÏler 15of bconomrc
Progre.rs,
ed.LeonH. Dupriez,with tle assislance
of DouglasC Hagle (Louvain,1955).
* ln a closedmodel,a dynamictheory
ofproductionmustaccountfor changilgstocksof
basicandappliedscience, assectoralaspects whichis donein I&e procers
ofinvesûnent,
ofE.onomi.Grovth. especially pp.22-5.
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WW Rostoq Th€Stages
of EconomicGro$th:ANon-Commùnist.. pe/rostow.htm
http://www mtholyokeedu/acad/intrel/i
The equilibria which emergefrom the applicationofthese crite a area setof sectoralpaths,from
which flows, asfirst derivatives,a sequenceof optimumpatt€msof investrnent.
Nevçrthçlçss,thç eçonomichistory ofgrowing societiestakesa part ofits rude shapefrom the €ffort of
soÇietiesto approximatethe optimumsectoralpaths.
At any periodof time, the rateof glowth in the sectorswill vary greatly;and it is possibleto isolate
empirically certainleadingsectors,at early stagesof their evolution,whoserapid rate of expansion
plays an essentialdirect andindirectrole in maintainingthe overall momentumofth€ economy.* For
someoulDoses 1tls
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WW. Rosto\ The Stages
ofEcononic Grolrth:ANon'Communist... httDr/ r'wwmtholvoke.eôtacadintrel/iDdrostowhtm
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W W Rostow.The Stacesof EconomicGror\lh: A Non-Communist. http //www mlholyoke edu/acad/jntrel/ipe/rostowhtm
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