TRANSNATIONAL ECONOMIC PROCESSES 377 International economic policies have increased in political importance for three different kinds of states for three different sets of reasons.First,in the case of the industrialized societies of the West the post-World War II attempt to create an "Atlantic Community,"first through the Marshall Plan and later through the negotiation of tariff dismantling through GaTT,involved an amalgamation of security and welfare objectives.On the one hand,the com- munity was seen as an attempt to foster higher levels of interdependence among Western industrialized states so as to reinforce,through economic re- covery and economic growth,their collective defense against Communist expansion.On the other hand,the accrual of the welfare benefits of higher levels of trade was also viewed as an end in itself.'Second,in East-West rela- tions trade policies formulated in virtually all Western states during the Igoos were based on the notion that foreign economic policy could foster political liberalization in Eastern Europe.Third,in the case of relatively nonmodern- ized societies economic policies have grown in importance as a result of the relative impotence of these societies when compared to relatively industrial- ized states.Without the capacity to sustain traditional foreign policies based on the use of force the leaders of these states have collectivized their demands for a greater share of the world's wealth by supporting efforts to redistribute that wealth through trade and aid agreements with the wealthier societies of both East and West. As a result of these three reasons the same general conclusions can be reached:Economic change and economic policy have become central foci of international politics in the twentieth century.Any general theory which is to succeed in explaining the reasons why this focus has grown in importance must take into account the shift in the substance of international politics from a concentration on instruments of force to an emphasis on economic state- craft. II.THE "MYTH OF NATIONAL INTERDEPENDENCE"REEXAMINED If the politicization of economic activities accounts for their place in a dis- cussion of transnationalism,it does not provide an explanation of the emer- 7The same combination of "security"and "welfare"goals could be found among the various incen- tives for European integration.On the one hand,European unification was viewed as a means of putting an end to the divisive nationalisms which had been secn as a root of warfare and upheaval in Europe in the century preceding World War II.On the other hand,it was seen as the means of creating a market sufficiently large to support modern industrial growth.For a discussion of these motives in terms of functional,federal,and confederal approaches to European unity see Altiero Spinelli,The Eurocrats: Conflict and Crisis in the European Community,trans.C.Grove Haines (Baltimore,Md:Johns Hopkins Press,.1966),Pp.325. s For the most comprehensive review of political aspects of East-West trade see Samuel Pisar,Co- existence and Commerce:Guidelines for Transactions between East and West (New York:McGraw-Hill Book Co.,1970). The increased importance of economic relationships as a major concern of international politics is further explained by Susan Strange in "International Economics and International Relations:A Case of