This paper will evaluate the contrasting arguments for 'industrial retardation' and find the proper place for the 1870-1914 period in the annals of economic history. The author believes that at the worst it was an era of relative decline only when compared with international competition. Britain had simply boomed earlier than the US or Germany, and its cycle of development was, therefore, out of synch with theirs. 10 pgs. 23 f/c. 4b.