What We Are Reading Today: The Development Dilemma by Robert H. Bates

In The Development Dilemma, Robert Bates responds to this challenge by turning to history, focusing on England and France. By the end of the 18th century, England stood poised to enter “the great transformation.” France by contrast verged on state failure, and life and property were insecure. Probing the histories of these countries, Bates uncovers a powerful tension between prosperity and security: Both may be necessary for development, he argues, but efforts to achieve the one threaten the achievement of the other. A fundamental tension pervades the political economy of development.