Suggested reading
Berg (1994); Gregory (1990); Langton (1984).
industrialization The process whereby
industrial activity comes to play a dominant
role in the economy of a region or nation-state.
Historically, industrialization has involved a
more complexdivision of labourand the
spread of mechanized production (machinofac-
ture) in place of hand production (manufac-
ture). These changes brought about a
transformation in what Karl Polanyi called
the form of economic integration, from the
reciprocity of a moral economy to the market
exchange ofcapitalism. In certain Western
societies, industrialization took place spontan-
eously, small-scale domestic production for
local consumption being replaced by larger-
scale ‘factory’ production aimed at more
distant markets. For Adam Smith, such indus-
trialization formed part of the ‘natural pro-
gress’ of economic development, founded on
the production of agricultural surpluses, but
ultimately leading to specialist industrial
regions and to international trade. Growth
was organic, and the shift to mechanized
production, prompted by supply being out-
stripped by growing demand, was dependent
upon the development of appropriate technol-
ogy and the accumulation of capital for
investment (Berg, 1994).
As part of modernization theory, such read-
ings of the past were instrumental in linking
industrialization with development and in its
portrayal as a solution to poverty in the devel-
oping world (Power, 2003). As a result, many
less-developed countries made industry cen-
tral to their development strategies. This
planned (rather than spontaneous or ‘orga-
nic’) industrialization has generally taken one
of two forms: (a) import substitution, wherein
governments encourage the development of
indigenous manufacturing to produce con-
sumer goods for the domestic market, or (b)
export-orientated industrialization, which
aims to enhance production for overseas mar-
kets. In the 1950s and 1960s, Western govern-
ments favoured import substitution as a
development strategy for thethird world.
Influenced by the theories of Rostow and
others (see stages of growth) – which
accorded a pivotal role to the availability of
investment capital – they provided loans to
developing countries to facilitate industrial de-
velopment. The problems of such strategies
were thrown into stark relief by the economic
crises of the 1970s. The infusion of capital,
technology and business organization from
outside brought with it problems ofdepend-
ency, most obviously manifest in the mount-
ing debts of many developing countries
(Schurmann, 2001). More fundamentally,
Marxist scholars challenged the ‘development
myth’ by emphasizing the inevitability of
uneven developmentunder capitalism.
Inrecentyearstherehasbeenare-
articulation of modernization theory, partly
through the rhetoric of globalization, which
now points to the experience of developing
countries experiencing rapid industrialization.
Most striking are the so-calledasian miracle/
tigereconomies of South-East Asia, where the
rate of industrial growth – much of it fuelled by
export-orientated industries drawing on abun-
dant cheap labour – has far exceeded that of
europe during the industrial revolution.
China has industrialized particularly rapidly
and, in doing so, has highlighted many of the
mounting ecological problems associated with
industrial growth. In addition to those of
pollutionof land, sea and air, is the more
fundamental question of the sustainability of
industrialization based on finite mineral re-
sources (Phillips and Mighall, 2000). What the
example of South-East Asia also shows is the
emergence of service activities as an alternative
source of employment and route to economic
development (cf.services). jstinequality, spatial The uneven distribution
across space of a particular set of attributes,
over which there is a moral politics of right or
wrong. So, whereas spatialdifferentiationrefers
to conditions over which moral questions do
not arise, spatialinequalityrefers instead to
those characteristics over which there is a
sense that their production is the result of
human agency. The uneven distribution of
natural resourcesis an example of spatial
differentiation. On the other hand, variations
between regions in terms of income levels or
health rates would be examples of inequality.
Think about the battles that have raged over
the uneven distribution of access to some
forms of medication, particularly between the
wealthiest nations and those of thethird
world.social movementsof one kind or an-
other have lobbied multinational pharmaceut-
ical companies, in an attempt to get them to
do their bit in addressing spatial inequalities in
the treatment of HIV/AIDS.
welfare geographysince the 1970s has
been concerned with inequality in living
standards, in the broadest sense. Attention
has continued to be paid to traditional con-
cerns, such as those in differences in livingGregory / The Dictionary of Human Geography 9781405132879_4_I Final Proof page 380 31.3.2009 7:05pmINDUSTRIALIZATION