Special Report: Poor vs. Rich : A New Global Conflict

A conflict between two worlds—one rich, one poor—is developing, and the battlefield is the globe itself. On one side are two dozen or so industrialized, non-Communist states whose 750 million citizens consume most of the world's resources, produce most of its manufactured goods and enjoy history's highest standard of living. Demanding an ever larger share of that wealth are about 100 underdeveloped poor states with 2 billion people—millions of whom exist in the shadow of death by starvation or disease. So far, the conflict has been limited to economic pressures and proposals, and speeches in international forums. But the needs of...