Sir William Keith Hancock (1898–1988) was a prominent Australian historian who wrote extensively on economics. Originally published in 1950, this book forms the substance of two lectures delivered by Hancock during the February of that year. Taking as its starting point the experience of the British Commonwealth, the text suggests that economic and political dependence are matters of degree, and that advancement or stagnation is to be explained by the interaction of economic, social and political influences. The first part of the text brings this complicated process into focus; the second part reviews the problems of development and welfare within the Commonwealth.