poverty line is still of a staggering magnitude. Some pertinent conclusions may be drawn from this state of affairs. The first is the untenabili ty of the notia, that the economic growth and welfare of the developing countries would automatically improve if progress of the developed countries could be ensured, and that the increased prosperity of the latter oould be effectively trickled down to the former through the transmission mechanisms of aid, trade and private investment. Experience has time and again shown this assumption to be false, or at least highly overbl~n, for even in the periods of unprecedented growth and prosperity of the developed countries -for example, 1952 to 1973 -the gap between the rich md the p:>or oountries grew wider. secondly, exclusive reliance a, the workings of market forces does not suffice in accelerating the efforts to bridge the North-South gap, as it in fact tends to favour the strong to the detriment of the weak. Paradoxical as it may sound, in a relationship of inherent inequality, too much liberty oppresses and it is regulatioo that liberates. Hence, developed countries should reoognize that, as they have sometimes found it necessary substantially to o.irb the free operation of JP/sm A/S-18/PV. 2 64 (Mr. Alatas, Inoonesia) market forces in their domestic domains, it is unfair and unconvincing to insist on their pristine application in the N:>rth-South oon text. And it is even 100re unconvincing when developed· countries show themselves quite prepared to interfere with those furces in the international sphere when it suits their interests to do so. Thirdly, adjustment measures, no matter hOfl strenuously µ1rsued at the national level, can be of enduring impact only if complemented by an international economic envirooment that is oonducive to their success. 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the issue of poverty and economic development in developing countries, and argues that the assumption that economic growth and welfare of developing countries would automatically improve if the developed countries' progress could be ensured is false. It also highlights the need for regulation and international cooperation to bridge the North-South gap. These themes suggest that the text is primarily focused on economic development and international trade.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade