Abstract

Discontinued years ago because of its alleged dubious value in creating a false thematic unity, the “Introduction” is coming back by popular demand. If nothing else, it will serve to explain why we publish what follows. The Carlo article dissects the histoty of the oil crisis to indicate (1) how it does not mean a shift in power relations between the First and parts of the Third World; (2) the need for radical historiography to focus on internal capitalist struggles to understand the unfolding of policies; and (3) how US. imperialism, although not omnipotent and omniscient, instrumentalizes economic crises in order to retain its world hegemony. The main point is that, according to Carlo's “iron law of under development,” under imperialist relations the gap between the First and Third Worlds will continue to grow.