Though the lion's share of oil revenue was usurped by the...

Though the lion's share of oil revenue was usurped by the Western powers and companies, yet the remnant of it was enough to ensure Iranians that they could buy all they needed from the West. They became accustomed to the use of the machine without having technical know-how. Gradually they became more and more easygoing and comfort-loving, and surrendered their social, cultural, political, and economic freedom to the despotism of the machine.

When Jalal curses the machine and holds it responsible for Iran's slavery to the machine-producing West, his criticism issues from a realization that the machine played the key role in subjecting Iran to occidentosis. The imported machine and technology required expertise, which was not available in the country, and hiring of foreign experts meant importing the necessary paraphernalia.

which was accompanied by all sorts of foreign cultural influence, including that of the Orientalists, sociologists, political analysts, functionaries of cultural exchange programmes, etc. With all this, Iran's subjection to occidentosis was complete. The same process took place in the Arab countries also with some minor differences. But probably the pre-Revolution Iran had become much more Western in its life-style than any other Muslim or Eastern country.

All diseases produce corresponding antibodies. Similarly the plague of occidentosis produced from within writers like Jalal and a combating resistance force in the form of the 'ulama', who untiringly fought against all forms of Western supremacy. This concerted struggle ultimately culminated in the movement led by Imam Khumayni. Jalal witnessed its beginning and anticipated correctly its far-reaching socio-political effects.

The fifth chapter '"The War of Contradictions", brings out the main contradictions of the Iranian society caused by the machine transformation. The logic of machine consumption compelled premature urbanization, as a consequence of which villages were deserted and agriculture destroyed. This change forced Iranian consumers to be dependent on foreign food grains and frozen or tinned food products. The entire Iranian economy collapsed.

The figures which are supplied and analysed by Jalal concern the years 1331-1340 (1952-1961), which marked just the beginning of Iran's dependence on the West, and particularly the U.S.A. Desertion of the countryside and total collapse of agriculture in the coming years turned Iran into a country spoon-fed by the West.