DURING the roughly 150-year period between 1760 and World War I, England, the countries of northwest Europe, and the US went through the economic transformation of the Industrial Revolution.
asserted
England → dure → Revolution
Real per capita GDP, which had remained stagnant at $2-3 per day, started to rise.
asserted
which → remain → day
Real wages that had historically remained slightly above subsistence level doubled.
asserted
that → remain → level
The percentage of labour force employed in agriculture plummeted.
asserted
percentage → employ → agriculture
The West’s share of global manufacturing — around 25 per cent before the Industrial Revolution — jumped to more than 80pc by 1914.
asserted
share → jump → 1914
Some economic historians have labelled this shift as humanity’s ‘great escape’ from poverty, disease, and squalor.
asserted
historians → label → poverty
In the past 200 years, Japan, South Korea, and China stand as the only non-European nations to have bridged the economic divide with the West.
asserted
Japan → stand → West
These countries accomplished in decades what the West achieved in centuries by sustaining long periods of nearly double-digit economic growth.
asserted
West → accomplish → growth
After the destruction wreaked by World War II, Japan grew at an average annual rate of nearly 10pc from 1955 to 1973.
asserted
Japan → wreak → 1973
In 1968, it surpassed Germany to become the second largest economy.
asserted
it → surpass → Germany
Starting in the early 1960s, South Korea entered a period of sustained economic growth, described as the ‘Miracle on the Han River’.
asserted
Korea → start → River
Real GDP increased 25-fold in three decades.
asserted
GDP → increase → decades
In 1996, South Korea became a member of the OECD.
asserted
Korea → become → OECD
In the 40 years following the ‘reform and opening up’ of 1978, China’s economy grew at an average annual rate of about 9.5pc, increasing the size of its GDP roughly 35- to 40-fold in real terms.
asserted
economy → follow → terms
In the process, China lifted nearly 800 million people out of poverty and became the world’s largest economy in PPP terms in 2014.
asserted
China → lift → 2014
The high-speed economic growth of the East Asian economies displayed three characteristics.
asserted
growth → display → characteristics
First, the period of rapid economic growth was preceded by fundamental restructuring of society’s political and cultural institutions.
asserted
period → precede → institutions
Second, the shift from an agricultural to industrial economy was spearheaded by the state.
asserted
shift → spearhead → state
Third, during the transformation period, the attainment of economic goals was prioritised over political freedoms.
asserted
attainment → prioritise → freedoms
For Pakistanis to live better, the economy must grow at near double-digit rates for decades.
asserted
economy → live → decades
From 1945 until 1951, Gen Douglas MacArthur presided over Japan’s post-World War II transformation as supreme commander of the allied powers.
asserted
MacArthur → preside → powers
He had Emperor Hirohito issue a rescript denouncing his divinity, promulgated a new constitution, carried out land reforms, changed the education system, and introduced American cultural elements to Japanese life.
asserted
Hirohito → have → life
In South Korea, before Gen Park seized power in 1961, land reforms had already been accomplished through the initiative of the United States Army Military Government in Korea.
asserted
reforms → seize → Korea
Gen Park launched the New Community Movement, promoted traditional ethno-nationalism, and strictly regulated social life.
asserted
Park → launch → life
During the first 30 years after the revolution of 1949, the Communist Party of China dismantled the 2,000-year-old imperial system, gave land title to nearly 300m peasants, and laid the foundations of a modern state.
asserted
Party → dismantle → state
The post-World War II reconstruction in Japan was led by the ‘iron triangle’ of bureaucrats from the trade and industry ministry, Liberal Democratic Party politicians, and the captains of Japan’s leading industrial conglomerates.
asserted
reconstruction → lead → conglomerates
In South Korea, Gen Park adopted the policy of export-led economic growth by providing subsidised credit to chaebols, suppressing domestic demand, and quashing labour unions.
asserted
Park → adopt → unions
In China, the state laid the foundations of basic and heavy industry through financial and technical Soviet assistance.
asserted
state → lay → assistance
Even after Deng Xiaoping’s liberalisation, the state still controls strategic sectors of the economy and takes the lead in pioneering new technologies.
asserted
state → control → technologies
Nominally, Japan was a parliamentary democracy during the post-World War II economic transformation, but the Liberal Democratic Party remained in power for 38 years in what is described as a ‘one-and-a-half party system’.
asserted
what → remain → system
Following a coup in 1961, Gen Park first ruled South Korea as a military dictator and then adopted a constitution giving him near absolute powers without term limits.
asserted
Park → follow → limits
China has remained a one-party-led state since its founding in 1949.
asserted
China → remain → 1949
Deng Xiaoping, who launched the economic ‘reform and opening up’ in 1978, rejected demands for Western-style democracy and suppressed the 1989 demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.
In varying degrees, these conditions were present in all countries that successfully transformed into industrialised nations.
asserted
that → launch → nations
Pakistan experienced something similar during its first two decades, when it attempted land reforms, passed the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, and adopted the five-year planning system, with input from the Harvard Advisory Group.
asserted
it → experience → Group
All the economic and social gains of these early decades were lost starting in the 1970s.
asserted
gains → lose → 1970s
In 1998, Pakistan discontinued the practice of drawing five-year plans and began transitioning to a medium-term development framework.
asserted
Pakistan → discontinue → framework
Slow growth in the last two decades has caused Pakistan to fall behind its South Asian neighbours in living standards.
asserted
Pakistan → cause → standards
The manufacturing sector represents less than 13pc of GDP, and the country runs an average annual trade deficit of around $30 billion.
asserted
country → represent → billion
Harsh policy measures have stabilised Pakistan’s economy.
asserted
measures → stabilise → economy
During FY2024-2025, Pakistan recorded a current account surplus because of import restrictions and robust remittances.
asserted
Pakistan → record → restrictions
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
