governments. Rather, some of the most powerful countries seem to be turning away from a previous commitment to multilateralism. But the reasons for erosion of support for multilateral co-operation are many and various. The great impulse to international co-operation provided by the depression of the 1930s and the Second World War has long since faded away. Power relations and diversification of interests has made consensus at the global level more difficult to achieve. Moreover, industrial countries and countries in parts of the developing world have begun to reassess the relationship between the State and the economy. The progressive accretion of social and economic objectives by the state has been slowed and in some countries reversed. Some aspects of the welfare policies of recent decades are increasingly regarded as sources of market rigidities which hamper adjustment to technological change and make for sluggish growth and protectionist pressures. 44. There is thus greater concern with the role of incentives and responsive price structures. At the same time, intellectual consensus on how economies work has broken down. Consequently, the international consensus on principles of development and macro-economic management has all but vanished, but no new one has emerged to take its place. This has had direct consequences for multilateral arrangements. In the absence of a shared understanding on policies, the basis for multilateral co-ordination among countries tends to erode. Moreover, the new inclination in many industrial countries to check public expenditures for social welfare purposes constrains both their willingness and ability to contribute to international development programmes. 45. Finally, as governments have had to make difficult economic and social adjustments to the unanticipated shocks and to the emerging structural changes in -9- the international division of labour, international economic conflict has increased. If, as many expect, the world economy of the 1980s continues to grow 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the erosion of support for multilateral cooperation, the breakdown of intellectual consensus on economic policies, and the impact of these changes on international development programs and economic coordination. It seems that the text is primarily focused on the economic aspects of international relations, highlighting the challenges and tensions in the global economy.

**Category**
International trade, Economic development