Essay on “The Millennium Cycle” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

The Millennium Cycle

A Millennium is a lot of time. Naturally it sees the world change dramatically. But most of the change that had taken place in he present millennium was really in the last 200 years. Until then, the world was poor and growth was upset. The center of gravity of the world economy was not in the west, as it is today, but in the east, over the years there has been  a full turn of the cycle with the west getting on to the top.

In A.D. 1000 onward almost the whole income was derived from agriculture and most of the countries were self- sufficient with very little trade among themselves. There was no much difference in the per capita incomes of the countries. Although china and India were the richest countries in comparison of North America of Western Europe. Progress was slow. It took the next  500 years to take increase.

By the beginning of the 18^th century the world was still poor and the income disparities were still small. The west was taking lead in development.

The West produced almost twice as much as the rest of the world in per capita terms. Since then the progress was unequal and this naturally gave  rise to wide disparities among nations. The innovation of steam engine completely transformed the western economies. An industrial revolution was ushered in. New goods came to the market; new technologies were introduced in farms and factories; new trade channels were opened up. Domestic product based on agriculture and minerals were increasing.

The development of industry was facilitated by the corporate form of organization which separated owner ship and control and made large investment possible. To channel   financial resources from savers to investors, financial institution like banks and stoke exchanges came into existence.

It was Asia that was left way behind. China had suffered negative growth in 1850-1950 and its per capita income dropped by 0.24 per cent per year. In  India, the per capita income was almost static during this period. The industrial revolution which transformed the west almost bypassed the east. The disparity between the west and Asia increased phenomenally. The per capita income in North America and Western Europe was about 15 times the per capita income in Asia. The world was divided into the rich and poor.

The most quarter century had the fastest growth the world over. North America, West Europe and Japan forged ahead creating compulsive forces on the part of the rest of the world to catch up. The Soviet Union , China and India which opted for different varieties of central planning and enlarged scope for the public sector could not share the progress with the rest of the world. 

Since the middle of 70s when the west progress slowed down, the east picked up growth. Those nations which put the market system earlier gained most. Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico and Chile surged forth, followed by Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines. China which had fallen by the wayside made the most during this period and achieved growth rates which attracted world attention. Before the end of the millennium the per capita income of China was one- eighth of the US and India’s half that of China.

The new millennium will not see such progress advance in technologies in comparison of past centuries. The west will continue at slow speed because the share of industry in these countries is shrinking. The investment opportunities are disappearing. So the resources will move over to such countries where they can be utilized more productively. The largest gainer may be China and India which have huge lags in development to make good. The gap between the west and the east will shrink. China and India which were at the crest of the cycle at the beginning of the present millennium will regain their position in the next century. If India summons the political will to undertake the right reform , a steady high growth can be achieved. The wheel of fortune will be completing a second millennium leading to third circle.