Book Description
Acclaim for The Global Class War
"You will never think about 'free trade' the same way after reading Jeff Faux's superb book. As Faux makes clear, the globalization debate is really about whose interests are served by global elites, and how we need to go about reclaiming a democracy that serves ordinary people. This book should transform public discourse in America."
-Robert Kuttner, founding coeditor of the American Prospect and a contributing columnist to BusinessWeek
"Jeff Faux's astonishing story of how class works will scandalize the best names in Wall Street and Washington-especially the much admired Robert Rubin, who along with other elites colluded behind the backs of ordinary citizens in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. The most cynical Americans will be shocked by the sordid details. This really is an important book."
-William Greider, author of The Soul of Capitalism and Secrets of the Temple
"Globalization is a cover for American imperialism, but the beneficiaries are not the American people at the expense of foreigners but corporate executives at the expense of working-class and poor people wherever they may be. Jeff Faux offers a comprehensive and devastating analysis."
-Chalmers Johnson, author of The Sorrows of Empire
Customer Reviews:
Clubby "governing class" with its fingers in its ears.......2007-07-15
Basically, a lot of governmental decisions (such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA) get made by the "governing class", an insular group of government officials closely linked with the business world; alternative viewpoints (such as labor or environmental concerns) tend to be minimized. This results in outcomes that are not only detrimental to individuals and society in general, but can also backfire and hurt business as well (higher health care costs and the loss of the US steel industry are examples given).
NAFTA promised "good jobs" (many tied in to the import/export business), for Americans and Canadians, as well as better job opportunities (and less illegal immigration) for Mexicans. What happened, though, was a lot of manufacturing moved from the US to Mexico, where the lower wages paid did little to stimulate the economy. Mexico was hurt further when manufacturing, ever in search of cheaper labor, moved production to Asia.
There is also discussion about global organizations such as the WTO and their meetings in Davos. Same clubbiness, but on a worldwide basis. Labor, etc. is again shut out or co-opted by business, and what opposition there is often ends up ineffectual.
Even the US invasion of Iraq had a basis in developing markets for multinationals, not just oil and/or military strategy.
The subtitle states "How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future". The author does blame Clinton as much as he does Bush (41) for ramming NAFTA through over the objections of labor, environmental and other concerned groups. (Canadian and Mexican leadership, including the high level of corruption in Mexico, are also called to task) And he points out that almost as much corporate money flows to Democrats as it does to Republicans.
But he does save most of his opprobrium for the right: the "think tanks of the 1970's, followed by Reagan and Thatcher; the rise of the religious right; Friedman, etc.
Finally, the author puts forth his plan to "Win it back": a "Continental Democracy", essentially a reformed version of NAFTA with labor, environmental, and human rights provisions explicitly written in and enforced. In addition, a "Citizens Continental Congress" would be implemented. The three countries would be divided into several geographical regions, some of which would cross national borders ("Nine Nations of North America" anyone?). Sounds like part of a plan, but actaully "belling the cat" (i.e. getting the governing class to listen, let alone implement it) is left as an open exercise.
Neither the premise nor the conclusion is a surprise here.......2007-05-28
The premise of this book is that the global elites are more loyal to their own class than to their country of origin (see the discussion of universal health care in America under Clinton) and the conclusion is that the working class will be hurt more by the coming economic catastrophes in America than will the global elite who are the cause. In between those "well, duh" moments is a reasoned and thorough exposition of how NAFTA came into being and the consequences for the working class, especially in Mexico. Faux presents the differences between the Keynsian model and the social Darwinism under which we struggle at present. My dad was a professor of Economics, and a follower of Keynes, and he would have endorsed this book. Unfortunately, I think that Faux's idea of a North American union, while deserving of consideration, will not be accepted by US citizens.
It's the book for the young to read and reread!!.......2007-02-08
I read the book with a scant eye on the economists view of events but by the end of the first chapter I had a different attitude. I found myself thinking that my children must know this material in order to make sound decisions about their future and the future of the country. Every newscaster should be required to read this book before interviewing propective candidates for President. It has enlightend me on the workings of our government.
Insightful Analysis.......2007-01-15
Jeff Faux gives an insightful overview of the causes behind the gradual decline in living standards and income of not only the American Middle Class, but its counterpart in every other country of the world, orchestrated by the newly-globalized power-elite class. Intriguing and thought-provoking, the book looks at the big picture and brings into focus the reasons for some of the world-wide developments of which everyday people have become victims. It will give readers a whole new, and probably even more cynical take on political leaders of the present era.
The Global Class War : How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future - and What It Will Take to Win it Back.......2007-01-09
good
Book Description
"Impressive... This is an evidence-based bottom-up account of the realities of globalisation. It is more varied, more subtle, and more substantial than many of the popular works available on the subject." -- Financial Times
Based on a five-year study by the MIT Industrial Performance Center, How We Compete goes into the trenches of over 500 international companies to discover which practices are succeeding in today’s global economy, which are failing –and why.
There is a rising fear in America that no job is safe. In industry after industry, jobs seem to be moving to low-wage countries in Asia, Central America, and Eastern Europe. Production once handled entirely in U.S. factories is now broken into pieces and farmed out to locations around the world. To discover whether our current fears about globalization are justified, Suzanne Berger and a group of MIT researchers went to the front lines, visiting workplaces and factories around the world. They conducted interviews with managers at more than 500 companies, asking questions about which parts of the manufacturing process are carried out in their own plants and which are outsourced, who their biggest competitors are, and how they plan to grow their businesses. How We Compete presents their fascinating, and often surprising, conclusions.
Berger and her team examined businesses where technology changes rapidly–such as electronics and software–as well as more traditional sectors, like the automobile industry, clothing, and textile industries. They compared the strategies and success of high-tech companies like Intel and Sony, who manufacture their products in their own plants, and Cisco and Dell, who rely primarily on outsourcing. They looked closely at textile and clothing to uncover why some companies, including the Gap and Liz Claiborne, choose to outsource production to foreign countries, while others, such as Zara and Benetton, base most operations at home.
What emerged was far more complicated than the black-and-white picture presented by promoters and opponents of globalization. Contrary to popular belief, cheap labor is not the answer, and the world is not flat, as Thomas Friedman would have it. How We Compete shows that there are many different ways to win in the global economy, and that the avenues open to American companies are much wider than we ever imagined.
SUZANNE BERGER is the Raphael Dorman and Helen Starbuck Professor of Political Science at MIT and director of the MIT International Science and Technology Initiative. She was a member of the MIT Commission on Industrial Productivity, whose report Made in America analyzed weaknesses and strengths in U.S. industry in the 1980s. She lives in Boston , Massachusetts.
Customer Reviews:
Nice one.......2006-02-26
A real page turner, plenty of insight into outsourcing and globalisation, very impressive piece of work!
We Should Not Accept Second-Best Ever!.......2006-02-20
In the boom years of mass consumption after WWII, the vertically integrated companies flexed all their muscles. Giants like RCA, IBM, Levi Strauss, and Volkswagen coordinated all the functions from research and development to distribution within their own control in the company. "For the first time in history, a great number of complex manufactured goods, like automobiles, refrigerators, canned foods, bicycles, and radio and television sets, became affordable for people with ordinary earnings."
In this book, they attempt to report on what the team learned about constraints and strategic choices in the global enonomy. "As far as I know, this is the first large-scale analysis of globalization that starts with a view from the trenches -- the people under great pressure to respond to new challenges in hundreds of companies around the world." If all manufacturing leaves America, can research, design, and services be far behind?
Firms locate production abroad or contract out to foreign manufacturers to get the cheap labor. It doesn't matter that the quality is poor and not up to standard. "Finding workers at lower wages is the main concern." Who makes Dell computers and where? The December 19, 2004, 'New York Times' article quoted Kevin Rollins as saying that "Dell makes them in the United States." They even moved a production group to Nashville, Tennessee. "None is outsourced; none is made in other countries and shipped in." It has been pointed out that Dell laptops are assembled abroad." In 2005, 'Fortune' named Dell "America's most admired company." Ms. Berger maintains that "the only operation that take place in Dell factories in the United States are those involved with final assembly -- in other words, screwing in the parts and burning in the software options selected by the customer" and that Dell outsources all the manufacturing of the components which are included in its computers.
Lenova Group Ltd. may be the world's third-largest computer maker after acquiring IBM's personal computer business, but it's a household name only in China. It provided an Internet cafe in the Olympic Village at Torino with free access to thirty-four computers for email service for the athletes and trainers. NBC's Olympic crew leased 1,000 Lenova notebook and desktop computers. Because of this exposure and the expensive sponsorship, its aim is recognition as a worldwide brand.
Global trade has railroads humming again. The right train of thought can take you to a better station in life. Norfolk Southern is leading the way. As manufacturing moved abroad, more finished goods needed to crisscross the country from ports. In the 20th century, train engines, railroad cars, and thousands of miles of railroad tracks were all Norfolk Southern needed to reach prosperity. With the assistance of University of Tennessee as a key management tool to a broader understanding of the global logistics economy, Norfolk Southern is now more integrated in the global supply chain.
Many of their trains are reassembled at the John Sevier Yard where my dad worked in the Fifties for the Southern Railway. Norfolk Southern who bought them out operates in twenty-two states and Canada, employing 30,000 people with Knoxville as a key hub because of its location and the CSX local Railroad. Sourcing of parts and materials is more global not only on a 21,000 mile cross-country route, but the Asian products headed to the Midwest will use Eastern ports like Norfolk, Virginia.
At present, six major U. S. ports including Miami, Florida, are being used by Arab Emirates businesses which merged with a subsidiary of a London-based firm purchased by Durai Ports Wrold for $6.8 billion to allow direct access to American soil. Medicare is already substituting generic medicines manufactured in Israel and Germany in its new drug "insurance" whereby the American patient has no say in the matter. And it is not free! Competing globally for manufactured goods is one thing but putting the American population, especially the fragile elderly, at risk for chemical warfare -- or national security -- is another matter.
Previously, I reviewed Thomas Friedman's THE WORLD IS FLAT which this author takes a differing opinion. She says that he claims "talented individuals from all over the world are now competing on a level playing field." She advocates that our world is still round. When MIT came out with another study, "Made in America" in 1988, "we learned about senior corporate delegations making visit after visit to Japanese plants to fathom the secrets of Japanese success." The Toyota and Nissan plants were built in Smyrna, Tennessee, and Lexington, Kentucky, and Detroit lost some of its automobile production to Spring Hill, Tennessee. Now, the digital companies have decided on Middle Tennessee to relocate.
This is a five-year study by a dozen (nine men, three women) MIT Industrial Performance Center Globalization Team of which the author was a member. She teaches political science at MIT and was also in the group which produced the earlier study, "Made in America." Established in 1991, the IPC is headed by Richard K. Lester. There is a group picture on page 335 of the illustrious group which has now decided "How We Compete." I say, we don't!
They Can't See it Coming!.......2006-01-21
More than two million jobs disappeared from the U.S. between '01 and '04 - half a million in high-tech industries alone. Further, Steven Roach, chief economist at Morgan Stanley, estimates that there have been about 8 million fewer jobs in the current recovery than would have been expected from prior history, and most of the new jobs come with low wages and few benefits.
Berger knows these numbers have caused a rising fear that no American job is safe from low-wage countries. To discover whether these fears are justified, Berger and a group of MIT researchers visited over 500 workplaces and factories around the world. Their conclusion is that cheap labor is not the answer.
This conclusion is currently true in some instances; however, the authors fail to see that cheap labor (the "China price") is increasingly dominating decision-making - both in services and manufacturing. Jobs that formerly were not candidates for outsourcing (finance, market research, industrial design, computer systems design, paralegal research, reading X-rays) now are; strategies that previously fought off Asian alternatives often fail to work several years later as China and India adopt new techniques; in fact the authors often cite previously highly successful American companies that subsequently succumbed.
G.M. and Ford are additional examples where this may yet happen - despite years of world-leadership. Part of their problem was believing that they could let Japan have the low-cost market - this worked for awhile, but now Toyota et al have applied the lessons learned in that market segment, and leveraged their distribution etc. systems on to producing competitive SUVs and innovative hybrids as well. Meanwhile, Toyota sees Korea and China as its most formidable future challenges, and despite its vaunted Toyota Production System, maintaining direct control throughout all stages (so does Microsoft, but that hasn't kept it from substantial outsourcing to India), and co-locating with suppliers, is seriously looking at China. Remember Visteon and Delphi (Ford and G.M.'s former parts arms)? Spinning them off was supposed to encourage more companies to utilize them, and it worked - for a time. Today's successes are far too often ephemeral!
To be fair, the authors also point out that studies and analyses on the impact of outsourcing reach conclusions all over the map. However, I think the most accurate (and certainly highly credible) conclusion is that of former MIT economist (and Nobel prize-winner) Paul Samuelson - globalization should increase the world's total income and average standard of living, but there's no reason to think any particular country or region's advances will outweigh its losses.
Berger, et al, also go on to recommend substantially improving American education. The "bad news" is that this has been tried for at least 30 years, with little impact. Further, others have determined that Asian IQs average about ten points over that of American whites. Regardless, what difference would improving education make, even if we did achieve equality with Asian outcomes, when the workers are paid but a fraction of Americans?
Berger does mention the rationale for foreign corporations choosing to continue building millions of cars in the U.S. - laws requiring U.S. content. Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes, BMW, Subaru, VW and others have built large plants in the U.S. as a result of this act. However, the authors fail to recognize this as a potentially strong and viable overall solution to the hollowing of America.
Another important omission is the problem of outsourcing large numbers of jobs to illegals within this country - in fact, Berger et al reference a situation involving such as a solution! Estimates are that AT LEAST nine million illegals from Mexico are here - depressing wage levels and stealing jobs that Americans formerly did. And what about the large number of Canadian truck drivers within the U.S. - soon to be augmented by Mexicans. (There are NO American truck drivers in Mexico that I know of, and very few that I've seen in Canada.) Then there is the self-inflicted problem of L1 and H1B visas bringing hundreds of thousands more, albeit legally. While technically not "outsourcing," the impact of each of the preceding is the same.
Another thought from some "experts" is that sending off the lower-level jobs allows the U.S. to focus on "higher level" jobs such as innovation. That's ridiculous for at least two reasons: 1)Manufacturing, for example, involves more than drilling, welding, molding, etc. It also involves design, production management, production layout, machine design, etc. These are NOT low-level jobs, nor is operating highly technical equipment. 2)How are all the displaced workers going to become eg. biomedical researchers, rocket scientists, etc.? (Oh yes, the Chinese and Indians are moving into those areas also; I have encountered a number of Americans who took recommended training in new areas after being "outsourced" from a long-term occupation only to become outsourced again.)
Also missing from "How We Compete" is any discussion and recommendation on healthcare. Auto manufacturers repeatedly claim that having to pay healthcare for their employees adds $1,000+ cost to each car - creating government-funded universal healthcare like other nations would help save jobs in America.
"How We Compete" address an important topic - however, its focus on CURRENT approaches (vs. trends) results in conclusions that are seriously over-optimistic. (Inadequate analysis by Berger and others helps explain the maze of contradictory conclusions on this topic; political and economic motivations of short-sighted clients are additional drivers.) Eight million jobs here, nine million there, etc., etc. - it adds up and hurts a lot. Meanwhile, America's competitive status declines daily and our government does little or nothing in defense.
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Ulrich Beck
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ASIN: 0745621260 |
Book Description
This important new book offers an engaging and challenging introduction to the thorny paths of the globalization debate. Beck aims to clarify the ambiguities of the debate, to distinguish between the various types of globalization and to warn the reader of conceptual traps. Most importantly, however, he opens up the horizon for political responses to globalization.Beck focuses on two main questions: what does globalization mean? and how can it be moulded politically? He begins by examining the ambivalences and paradoxes of globality and globalization, with regard to society, economics, politics, ecology and culture. He sets out the rival perspectives in the globalization debate and assesses the prospects for a transnational state. Central to the book is Beck's argument that a decisive critique of globalism is necessary to make space for the primacy of politics. In the last section, he offers a series of constructive proposals to counter the current paralysis of politics, suggesting ten ways of addressing and answering the challenges of the global age. The book concludes by conjecturing that if our politicians do not respond creatively to the challenge, we will experience what Beck calls 'the Brazilianization of Europe'.This book will be an important text for students and scholars in politics, sociology, geography and the social sciences generally. It will also appeal to a broader audience interested in key social and political issues in the world today.
Book Description
A global services revolution is taking the business world by storm, as India becomes the world's back office provider. From call centers and claims processing to human resources, accounting and even legal operations, service jobs are migrating from the West to India by the thousand each year. While cost reduction is often the initial goal of "offshoring," What's This India Business? clearly demonstrates its real value: increased quality and greater effectiveness. Rich in examples and expert advice, this nuts-and-bolts guide shows what it takes to surge ahead of market trends, build a sustainable new business model, and unleash the power of Indian businesspeople to gain an advantage. This is a practical guide to a dynamic country of a billion people with a complex culture and vibrant business environment, offering proven strategies for working positively with Indian businesses. Paul Davies takes you behind the scenes to show you how to select the right business partner from the myriad of Indian companies that all seem to present a similar face to the West. He takes you step-by-step through the planning and implementation stages, exposing the hidden costs and benefits, and carefully steering you away from the inherent dangers in offshoring. This straightforward insider's guide is an entertaining introduction to the dynamic cultures of India as well as a challenging book for the new century.
Customer Reviews:
Kinda Ironic Isn't It.......2007-01-18
It is kind of ironic that Amazon lists this book. Obviously they have not read it. Since 2000 they have outsourced almost all of their customer service. And not exactly done a bang up job of it.
Notice that there are no contact phone numbers even listed on the site anymore? You have to have them call you. I had a problem with my last order (and I do mean my last order ever with Amazon) today. While unfailingly polite, the customer service rep took 5 minutes to locate my order ( the computer kept giving him the wrong one) and could not resolve my problem. At least I think that's what happened. I could hardly understand a word he said.
What has happened to this one proud company? What has happened to this one proud nation?
Davies has good arguments.......2005-09-01
Mr Paul Davies gives a good assessment of my country. His guide to cultural do's and dont's is spot on. No Indian should quarrel with those. He also does not hide the many problems in Indian society, as he talks about the benefits of offshoring to Westerners.
On offshoring, I hope you will seriously consider his assessment that this trend will continue and grow. Americans might be undrstandably uneasy about their jobs. But they never seem to question how natural it is that Hollywood should dominate the world film industry, and that their chipmakers and software firms do also in those industries. To Indians, the U.S. still has immense strengths in technology.
Lonely Planet for CIOs.......2005-08-20
English is not my first language (even though I scored 720 in my SAT verbal), but I still must say I feel there is an undertone in this book of how on earth did we lose the Raj. There is a grudging acknowledgment of India's excellence but as a fait accompli rather than to understand the organic strengths of India, interrupted for what in its long history, was a short 150-year spell of playing host to the Burra Sahib.
An interesting work as a handbook of the hows and whats of this undeniably violent element of globalization. Like a Lonely Planet for CIOs.
In other words, interesting, but not good for those seeking the whys - in India and abroad.
By far, I prefer Rising Elephant, by Ashutosh Sheshabalaya. This goes to the core of what India was, could have been, and in case we forget, is becoming. And what this means (and could mean) for the West.
Do not forget to note his dedication note. Grandparents Rai Bahadur and a university professor. Parents educated in Oxford, Harvard, Columbia. A different perspective from an Indian aristocrat, but married I believe from the name, to a European or American (and also part of a local motorcycling band in Europe).
In other words, hard to place. Maybe the Burra Sahibs should speak with him. But my feeling is this is a good book for Western CEOs, but all Indians (and Western IT workers) would understand more if they read Rising Elephant.
Read your reviews carefully.......2005-05-11
Notice that almost all the negative reviews of this book do not actually review the book, but go off on a personal rant about something else. Davies' book is terrifically well-written and clear. The first section deals with the hard business aspects of outsourcing to India. The middle is an informative and very amusingly candid explanation of Indian culture and business manners that I would recommend to cultural trainers as well as to business people. The third portion of the book explains more business considerations. Contrary to what you might think from some of the non-review reviews, Davies does do a good job explaining what can go wrong when outsourcing corporate functions to India, and he encourages scepticism and close monitoring throughout the process. While he tells a lot of success stories, any alert person reading the book will also come away knowing that failure is possible and how it may be prevented. He does deal to some degree with the ethics of the whole issue, but from the point of view of someone who considers the whole outsourcing trend to be inevitable. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in the issue of Indian outsourcing, even if, like me, you have no part in it.
Complete with pungent anecdotes.......2005-01-18
This next decade will certainly see an extraordinary and painful reorganization of the social, cultural and economic orders, first because of the increasing free movement of labor across borders, and secondly, and much harder to manage, the free movement of work via telecommunications and information technology. Both create both new hopes and significant disruptions in the populations affected and the organizations that conduct them. Paul Davies, now MD of a consultancy for Onshore-Offshore, previously was responsible for transferring business processes to Unisys India. The fact that working for the Indian part of the organization is currently spoken of in Unisys in the USA as "joining the dark side" is a good indicator of the pain in this process.
What's This India Business? is about two things. Firstly, it unabashedly advocates offshoring as not only a given, but as a evolutionary inevitability for successful enterprises in the now and future global economy. Secondly, it is about India and its business culture, currently the outstanding example of the global trend to offshoring work in the service sector. As Davies puts it in his introduction, his book aims to help the reader "comprehend the scale of the change and what India can do for your business" and to help the reader be more on a par with the more extensive knowledge that his or her Indian counterpart is likely to have of Western business people and practices.
Davies starts with the basics of Indian economy, history and geography, what the business traveler can expect to find there. He follows this with a picture of the educational level of the people he or she will deal with. This is followed by a "primer of offshoring," spelling out which business functions are suitable for offshoring and how one can to do this as safely as possible. Given the high failure rate of outsourcing projects, this is much needed advice.
The focus then turns to India's role in the services revolution and the advantages which widespread English language competence and engineering education have given it in the IT marketplace. He answers questions about how one should approach this resource, align objectives, and structure relationships to do business together.
The second part of the book is a well-focused cultural briefing that concerns itself with what the eager entrepreneur is faced with having set foot in India. Like one who learns a foreign language to the point of being able to share humor and take pleasure in foreign company, Davies has learned to enjoy the differences and convert irritation into delight. Insights are shored by pungent anecdotes largely from the author's first-hand experiences.
That being said, whatever the author's personal successes in navigating the Indian business environment-and they appear considerable-this section tends to drift into imperially British wit, full of off-the-cuff judgments at the expense of Indian culture. While Brits may snigger at and lampoon the things that don't work or work for them in Indian culture, this is at the expense of the host culture, and appears arrogant and somewhat off-putting to this reader. One only has to think of Peter Mayle whose Year In Provence and subsequent books regale British tourists and attract settlers with while leaving a trail of resentiment locally.
Once surviving on the ground in India, it is decision time. A solid cost-benefit analysis is needed and Davies stimulates the process of preparing a business plan that fits this new environment and the particular risks it brings to the business arrangement.
Chapter 12 carefully explores the rhythm of Indian style negotiation and provides valuable insights both into the processes one may encounter and into the need to control ones impulses when entering into the local rhythm of give and take. This negotiation does not end with the decision to hire or partner with an Indian firm. The following chapters are about how to manage in order to get the results you need from the arrangement, and how to leverage the advantages your Indian collaborators can bring to you, even opening doors in the Indian market itself.
Most of us have already been consciously or unconsciously impacted by the services we receive from offshore agents of the many companies we deal with. Recently I had the occasion to ask for customer service for a crisis with my laptop software while I was working in Europe. Idled by the situation, I waited for the better part of the business day be able to connect the supplier during their posted Silicon Valley office hours-8:00AM to 6:00PM PST, only to speak to a Mumbai technical support professional on night shift. Not only did the US company try to dissimulate its offshoring activity, but it could have easily have offered better service hours to their customers given their multiple service locations.
In a final chapter on "Corporate Social Responsibility" Davies identifies some of the public relations risks and a few of ethical dimensions that offshoring is bringing about both in the home workforce as well as in the society of the offshore workforce. There are some suggestions but few solutions to the disturbing social disruptions that are now beginning to surface.
Perhaps the directness of What's This India Business? will serve not only as a handbook to offshoring to India, but as a wake-up call to reflective readers to the fact that few practical suggestions are being offered to help us cope with the social impact of what seems to the new economic offshoring imperative for Western enterprises. The energy of the new economic giants, India and China, will not be repressed. We all need better theories for managing our human planet than the worn version of Darwinian selection that seems to be capital's anachronistic mode of thinking.
Amazon.com
With Fortune Favors the Bold: What We Must Do to Build a New and Lasting Global Prosperity, Lester Thurow follows on his bestsellers The Zero-Sum Society and The Future of Capitalism by addressing the path to globalization. Thurow--a Professor of Management and Economics at MIT's Sloan School--draws uncompromising conclusions: only a bold embrace of globalization will bring prosperity, and nations that fail to engage in global economics will fall behind the world's dominant powers.
He sees three simultaneous revolutions that fuel the rush to global business: the birth of knowledge-based industry, the creation of a global economy built on a worldwide information infrastructure, and the victory of capitalism. But Thurow is not naively optimistic about the prospects for prosperity in this new framework. The U.S. trade deficit, the Chinese export economy, the SARS epidemic, and the stagnating Japanese economy all offer real threats to short-term and long-term well-being.
Some readers will be frustrated that Fortune Favors the Bold does not deliver a detailed set of solutions to these impediments to global prosperity, despite Thurow's thorough research. The U.S. trade deficit, like the absence of international intellectual property rights, he labels a "dilemma": a problem that has no prescriptive answer. Crises will occur, he suggests. The challenge is to prepare for them and manage them well. Thurow urges the creation of new institutions to confront these dilemmas head on, notably the creation of a Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) for governments and major corporations. The CKO will provide a central intelligence to steer nations and corporations through the difficulties of economic revolution. For Thurow, fortune will favor those leaders who boldly shape globalization and invest in emerging technologies. Those who stand by will be doomed to marginalization. --Patrick O'Kelley
Book Description
The new global economy is linking the fortunes of every nation on every continent -- for good or for ill. Its hallmark is a rising instability and a growing inequality between the first and third worlds, in spite of rising average incomes. The United States and other first world economies are finding it hard to recover after the boom of the 1990s and the bust of the early 21st century. Financial crises in the third world come frequently and are increasingly severe. Globalization is invoked to explain riots, civil disobedience, and as a factor in the rise of terrorism.
Lester Thurow argues now is the time to shape globalization into what we want it to be -- before it's too late. Today, he explains, we are at a critical crossroads in the development of the global economy. We can sit back and let it grow as it will, or we can seize the moment and build economic systems that will minimize instability, allow second and third world countries to thrive, and protect and enhance our own American interests. In short, a win/win global economy that benefits all participants.
Globalization, says Thurow, can be shaped.
In Fortune Favors the Bold, Thurow provides an insightful analysis of the ills of globalization and, more important, offers solutions. He tackles subjects such as:
- The dangers of the burgeoning U.S. trade deficit and the falling dollar
- Solving the problem of intellectual property rights violations
- Restarting Japan's stagnating economy
- How best to help underdeveloped countries enter the global economy
- Reforming the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
Further, Thurow shows how the economic successes of Ireland and China provide a model for other countries to follow. He even proposes creating anew role for a "Chief Knowledge Officer" to help guide companies and governments in the developing global knowledge-based economy of the 21st century.
Globalization will continue whether we like it our not. We are at a critical moment; great challenges lay ahead, and our economic future is at stake. Now, with Fortune Favors the Bold, we have a map and guidebook to a prosperous economic future.
Customer Reviews:
Pragmatic and well thought.......2005-12-31
Lester Thurow has a penetrating mind. His ideas and arguments are intellectually pure and for that reason invaluable. He is a true CKO - Chief Knowledge Officer.
Nothing new here.......2005-10-10
I bought this book recently while in Thailand, hoping that Thurow would offer-up something interesting - more or less along the lines of the early 90s work, such as "Head to Head." Not here. I checked the date and the book was initially published in 2003, which means he probably wrote the mainstay in 2002. To me, if you have never thought about globalization and its implications, then buy it. If you have already, then this is nothing more than a collections of truisms that anybody with any interest in the subject would know already.
How can one be wrong so much and still be called an expert?.......2004-06-08
It is so sad how wrong someone can be proven over and over again and still, he/she is rewarded, called a genius and is allowed to teach our youth. Here is a quote from the author: "Can economic command significantly... accelerate the growth process? The remarkable performance of the Soviet Union suggests that it can... Today the Soviet Union is a country whose economic achievements bear comparison with those of the United States." This was in 1989, just shortly before the Societ Union collapsed. Unfortunately, being this wrong in economics gives one awards and allows you to teach college students while being described a genius. Sad. Mr. Thurow may be a 'genius', but geniuses can be wrong too.
Infrastructure.......2004-05-29
One of the wildest claims in this book has to do with the question of infrastructure. Thurow claims India has better infrastructure than China. But today the chairman of GE, Jeff Immelt, told his audience in India that they would never catch up with China unless they improve their infrastructure. Immelt said India lagged behind China in health and in things like airports and roads. And this, he said, was a major reason why India was a "disappointing" market for GE.
Somebody must be wrong - either the GE chairman or the MIT professor. There are many other errors in this book, not only in facts and statistics, but also in analysis. (Another whopper, of the analysis variety: Thurow says that Confucianism and Communism combined to emphasize education in China, and that this is one reason why China is so highly educated for a developing country. I don't know about Confucianism, but I do know that for years Mao decimated higher education in China, so that at one point college students had the reading ability of a junior high student while junior high students could barely read.)
Logical and important........2004-04-20
A thorough and logical overview of economics and globalization, with predictions as well as prescriptions to manage potential problems. Although the predictions may or may not come true, the book is important because it allows readers the opportunity to understand in a clear, readable and factual manner, the issues we face as a "world economy".
If you want to read only one book which explains globalization, the rationale behind government run fiscal policies, the impact of trade deficits, and changing roles of governments and the world bank, this is a great one.
Book Description
In locations around the world, sex tourism is a booming business. What's Love Got to Do with It? is an in-depth examination of the motivations of workers, clients, and others connected to the sex tourism business in Sosúa, a town on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. Denise Brennan considers why Dominican and Haitian women move to Sosúa to pursue sex work and describes how sex tourists, primarily Europeans, come to Sosúa to buy sex cheaply and live out racialized fantasies. For the sex workers, Brennan explains, the sex trade is more than a means of survivalâit is an advancement strategy that hinges on their successful âperformanceâ of love. Many of these women seek to turn a commercialized sexual transaction into a long-term relationship that could lead to marriage, migration, and a way out of poverty.
Illuminating the complex world of Sosúa’s sex business in rich detail, Brennan draws on extensive interviews not only with sex workers and clients, but also with others who facilitate and benefit from the sex trade. She weaves these voices into an analysis of Dominican economic and migration histories to consider the opportunitiesâor lack thereofâavailable to poor Dominican women. She shows how these women, local actors caught in a web of global economic relations, try to take advantage of the foreign men who are in Sosúa to take advantage of them. Through her detailed study of the lives and working conditions of the women in Sosúa’s sex trade, Brennan raises important questions about women’s power, control, and opportunities in a globalized economy.
Customer Reviews:
A fascinating read..........2006-01-24
This book was fascinating to read. It was well written and interesting throughout. I would recommend it to anyone who loves to read and wants to learn about something they may know nothing about.
Book Description
A compelling look at the major changes in store as America faces increasing competition from two emerging Asian giants.
In the streets of India, camels pull carts loaded with construction materials, and monkeys race across roads, dodging cars. In China, men in Mao jackets pedal bicycles along newly built highways, past skyscrapers sprouting like bamboo. Yet exotic India is as near as the voice answering an 800 number for one dollar an hour. Communist China is as close as the nearest Wal-Mart, its shelves full of goods made in Chinese factories.
Not since the United States rose to prominence a century ago have we seen such tectonic shifts in global power; but India and China are vastly different nations, with opposing economic and political strategies—strategies we must understand in order to survive in the new global economy. The Elephant and the Dragon tells how these two Asian nations, each with more than a billion people, have spurred a new "gold rush," and what this will mean for the rest of the world.
Customer Reviews:
The Elephant & The Dragon.......2007-10-04
Really quite shallow - especially compared to the many other books available on China, India, and their effects on the U.S. Miss Meredith is obsessed with numbers & statistics with very little substance.
HS
Expected more from someone who lives and reports in the region.......2007-10-02
This book is interesting as a surface overview, but reveals nothing new.
Real insights into the supply chain and logistics might have helped the reader understand what is really happening in China and India. Financial transparency and commercial honesty are significant issues, which are largely overlooked. The author needs to dig deeper, and "peel away the onion" more to offer any meaningful value to the reader.
In some ways, China is the ultimate capitalist state. Fewer than a thousand families in China own nearly everything. The often sited prediction that China's per capita income will match the EU is unlikely anytime soon. A worker making $6 per week can barely afford a scooter, let alone a computer, or a car.
I think this author has talent, but I felt while reading this that she was "cashing in" on the herd-think about China, and failed (this time) to get the real meat of the story. Save your $30, and save up for a visit to judge for yourself. The Chinese know that Westerners are unlikely to understand, and they trade on our naïve beliefs that the world is just like the West was a few decades ago. It is truly different, and that make an interesting book worthy of the reader's time.
Required Reading for Politicians.......2007-08-23
This book should be required reading for every politician in Washington and all of the Presidential candidates. It provides a sobering account about what is happening in India and China, how the happenings benefit the United States in the short-term and how they can adversely impact the U.S. in the future if we do not face up to our problems, such as a poor educational system. Its detailed account of how goods are produced in China clearly rebuts the China bashing that is so fashionable among politicians. It points out the problems that China faces, including serious environmental issues. The book should also be read by every serious investor for the perspective it gives about companies in India and China.
Must Read for International Business Managers.......2007-08-15
Excellent book ... a must read for anyone already doing or planning on doing business in India and China. Without understanding the history of a people and how they got to where they are, it is not possible to hope to do business either with them or amongst them. The book gives the reader an appreciation of the accomplishments (and misdeeds) of Indians and the Chinese which has brought them to where they are in the global business arena today.
INFORMATIVE.......2007-08-14
Informative and extremely well written. Gives an excellent idea of the economic growth currently taking place in India and China with many excellent examples. I recommend it highly.
Book Description
Foreword by Lou Dobbs
One of the hottest, most controversial topics in the news is the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries. Outsourced jobs are extending well beyond the manufacturing sector to include white-collar professionals, particularly in information technology, financial services, and customer service. Outsourcing America reveals just how much outsourcing is taking place, what its impact is and will be, and what can be done about the loss of jobs.
More than an exposŽ, the book shows how outsourcing is part of the historical economic shifts toward globalism and free trade, and demonstrates the impact of outsourcing on individual lives and communities. The authors discuss policies that countries like India and China use to attract U.S. industries, and they offer frank recommendations that business and political leaders must consider in order to confront this snowballing crisis -- and bring more high-paying jobs back to the U.S.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent College Resource on "Outsourcing Jobs".......2006-08-04
I used this book as a resource for a paper I did on outsourcing. I found this book to be very informative and well formatted. The chapters have a logical flow and uncover many things about the short-term and long-term affects in this country as well as the countries the jobs are being outsourced to.
An anti-globalization book, rather than an anti-outsourcing book.......2006-06-30
I am currently reading this book. What the authors are trying to say is simple, don't outsource. They have tried their best to write a book of 200+ pages - with a vague story-line and lot of repetitions. The story-line of the book could have been better and they could have tried to avoid the repititions.
It seems more like an anti-globalization book rather than an anti-outsourcing book. Authors have used the theme of outsourcing to emphasize their anti-globalization ideas, I believe.
Ok, I am not pro- or anti-outsourcing. Just wanted to put my thoughts here.
If globalization is bad for America, it is bad for other countries too. Since the authors are referring to India everywhere, let me give you examples of effect of globalization in India.
India's protected market was liberalized. Due to this India saw sudden influx of foreign good (include very cheap Chinese products). Lot of home grown industries collapsed due to this. Indian car, tv, textile, etc. companies were not able to compete with cheap foreign products. Millions lost job. This account of India is not discussed anywhere at all. Ford is selling cars in India. Apple sells fancy iPods in India. You can see that it is very simple to understand the concept. Like American companies sell their products in India and other countries (cars, iPods, desktop/laptop computers, operating systems, super computers, beauty products, etc.), Indian companies are selling their services (IT, Finance, BPO, etc.) to US and other countries. I beleive that the same thing is happening in other developed or developing or under-developed countries.
If US is going to protect the market, won't every other country will follow suit? How will then the US companies sell their products in other countires?
Let me know your thoughts.
The theory of comparative advantage does not support absolute advantage(globalization).......2006-01-15
Hira and Hira(HH) have written a book that they state is aimed at the average American.HH appear to have decided that the basics of the theory of comparative advantage,at the level of Adam Smith and David Ricardo,are too difficult for the average American reader to grasp.Therefore,they decided to skip an explicit account of exactly what it was that Smith(or Ricardo)actually said.This is the major shortcoming of the book.Smith would completely reject any globalization argument for outsourcing because such an argument rests on absolute advantage and not comparative(relative)advantage.Absolute advantage violates the necessary condition that the outcomes from trading be Pareto optimal(some countries gain more than others gain from trade but no one loses)since some countries lose.Under absolute advantage you have a zero sum game.Let's look at what HH should have covered from The Wealth of Nations(1776,Book IV,Chapter II,pp.420-440,Modern Library edition),but did not,in their book."First, every individual endeavors to employ his capital as near home as he can,and consequently as much as he can in the support of domestic industry;provided always that he can thereby obtain the ordinary,or not a great deal less than the ordinary profits of stock"(Smith,p.421;see also p.422-423).Assume that the returns are far less than ordinary.The individual should relocate his business in the foreign country so that he can sell the output he produces to his FOREIGN CUSTOMERS.Importation of these goods back into the home market for sale violates the theory of comparative advantage , since the relocated firm now has absolute advantage.For instance,Toyota and Volkswagen build plants in America to supply Americans with cars.They do not send their products back to Japan and Germany for sale in their home market,a la WalMart.Second,a retaliatory tariff is "...good policy...when there is a probability that they will procure the repeal of the high duties or prohibitions..."imposed by another country.Only when"there is no probability that any such repeal can be procured..."would a retaliatory tariff be a" bad method"(Smith,p.435).Third,"...freedom of trade(free importation of foreign goods) should be restored only by slow gradations,and with a good deal of reserve and circumspection"(p.435).Fourth, "To expect...that the freedom of trade should ever be entirely restored... is as absurd as to expect that an ...Utopia should ever be established..." because "...the private interests of many individuals irresistibly oppose it".Fifth,Smith fully supports revenue tariffs to fund government(Smith,p.439;see pp.845-850 for some of the negative consequences.Smith imposed such duties when he became a Customs official.The economic policies of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton were built on Tariffs)operations such as providing universal general and religious education(Smith,pp.767-768).HH present a list of the negatives resulting from the rush to implement a "globalization" policy that has not been done in slow gradations with a great deal of circumspection and reserve.Smith would be appalled to discover economists claiming that globalization is based on the theory of comparative advantage or that such a theory has anything to do with The Wealth of Nations.HH should revise their book to explicitly cover what Smith,a moral and ethical conservative, actually said and not what some libertarian anarchist economist claims he said.
Disappointing - A Start, but Need More Information.......2005-12-29
University of California experts estimate that about one out of nine jobs are vulnerable to outsourcing, while others see half of jobs outsourced as paying over $31,700/year, and a total of $151 billion outsourced by 2015. Clearly a serious problem!
Some dismiss the problem, saying that this allows the U.S. to focus on higher-value R&D. However, that is patent nonsense - is everyone going to become a scientist? Regardless, China already is the #2 producer of scientific papers on nanotechnology - a key new area.
Others say "new jobs" will occur, but are vague as to where these jobs will be or come from. Others claim that "insourcing" largely offsets outsourcing - however, further examination shows that much of what they are counting simply represents foreign- firms' takover of former U.S. firms. An example is Daimler-Benz and its Chrysler takeover, another is Tyco moving its headquarters offshore to avoid paying U.S. taxes.
Reality is that the problem is likely create economies of scale advantages for foreign producers as they claim more and more of former U.S. production. In addition, some firms are sending design and production engineering overseas to be closer to the action. (Neither point was made in Hira and Hira's book.)
Another problem is "insourcing" via H-1B and L-1 guest-worker visas allowing eg. Indian citizens to come to live in the U.S. and take jobs away from Americans.
Correcting the problem will require changing U.S. laws that provide no penalty for offshoring and offer tax deferrments for doing so (taxes on profits made overseas can be deferred; many firms are trying to also get a "tax holiday" on these deferred taxes). It will also require lowering U.S. corporate tax rates - data shown in the book indicates that U.S. firm tax rates are about double that of most competitors. Still another requirement is tightening visa requirements that allow foreigners in to take our jobs. The first requirement, however, is that outsourcing be recognized as a problem - unfortunately, most politicians are still reading outdated Economic textbooks and think our economy is improved by outsourcing.
The book is a start, but we need more data and credible analyses from insightful economists. It also isn't clear whether the current data include manufacturing jobs already lost, or just new service jobs. Finally, the impact of illegal Mexicans also needs to be addressed in the same book.
Mixed Messages and Contradictory Business Advice.......2005-11-24
After attending a recent lecture by Dr Hira, I found his book and his ideas on US economic evolution incomplete and wavering. Unfortunately, its not information are not grounded or empirical based on US employment trends and globalization.
I recommend you keep looking for better volumes.
Book Description
From the streets of Seattle to corporate boardrooms to new factories in third-world nations, globalization is subject to very different and often explosively divergent interpretations. Where some see globalization as driving poor countries into further poverty, others see it as the path to economic salvation and democratic rule. With original contributions from ten eminent economists, Globalization: What's New cuts through the confusion and rhetoric to offer straightforward, incisive analysis of globalization and its future.
Coming from some of globalization's most prominent supporters (David Dollar), its most vocal critics (Joseph Stiglitz), and those in-between, this collection presents diverse and original perspectives on globalization's immense reach that dig to the core of many debates. The contributors analyze recent trends in trade, immigration, and capital flows; why some poor countries have grown while others have stagnated during the past two decades; future opportunities for low-wage workers; globalization's impact on jobs and wages in poor countries and in the United States; the surprising environmental benefits of globalization; the degree to which foreign aid helps developing countries; the failures of international institutions in governing the global economy and supporting democracy; and how foreign loans and investments can wreak havoc on a nation's economy.
Customer Reviews:
much of the same.......2006-04-22
This book is useful for upper-division or graduate courses as a reference for contemporary issues of globalization from a mainstream Liberal stance- though with sufficient variation of viewpoints to foment debate.
Read especially Stiglitz's chapter as well as rodrik's piece; they are well thought out criticisms of globalization which do not take a polarizing approach to the issues of the day.
Average customer rating:
- Faith and Family
- A meticulous and scholarly study
- Marriage Movement Praise
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Marriage and Modernization: How Globalization Threatens Marriage and What to Do About It (Religion, Marriage, and Family)
Don S. Browning
Manufacturer: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
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ASIN: 0802811124 |
Book Description
The processes of modernization and globalization promise more wealth and health for many people. But they are also a threat to the stability and quality of marriage and family life. This new book — at once sobering and constructive — looks at the impact of these processes on marriage and asks what Christianity, in cooperation with other religions, can do to strengthen married life today.
Among the deleterious effects of modernization and globalization on marriage are a worldwide drift of men away from the responsibility of parenthood and the tendency of mothers too readily to take on the task of childrearing alone. After looking at recent research on these and other problems, Don Browning suggests that the cure for modern marital disruption entails reforming and reconstructing the institution of marriage while also nurturing relevant forms of social support. Yet the effort to initiate a "world marriage revival" requires a complex cultural work, and Browning explores the key contributions that the religions of the world must make for such an effort to be successful.
Customer Reviews:
Faith and Family.......2003-11-07
Faith and family have survived for millennia, but they have had to undergo tremendous challenges in the recent past. How have the forces of modernization and globalization impacted on the institutions of marriage and family? Is the decline of marriage in the Western world inevitable? What role does religion play in the revitalizing of marriage and family? And how can the fortunes of marriage be reversed in the social, cultural and educational arenas? What models can we look to today which can guide us in our attempt to resurrect the institution of marriage?
These and other profound questions are closely explored in this new volume by a leading ethicist and family educator from the Chicago Divinity School. Political, historical, religious and theological disciplines are carefully woven together in this wide-ranging work. The outcome is a renewed call for the importance of marriage in an age that needs to rediscover why it is such a necessary and crucial institution.
Browning examines how the family has fared over the millennia, and then uses this historical backdrop to see whether and how modernization and marriage can co-exist. He argues that we cannot turn back the clock, and refutes the concept the marriage is a pre-modern institution, incapable of surviving in a modern and postmodern environment.
He points out the now familiar negative impacts of modernization on marriage and family, but also argues that there have been positive benefits as well to arise out of modernization. His thesis is that modernization, at least in its destructive aspects, needs to be curtailed (not eliminated, as if that were possible) while marriage needs to be supported and promoted anew. Somehow the two can and must develop together.
Detailed examinations of the family in different cultures and nations is followed by meaty chapters on the findings of evolutionary psychology, feminism and global trends, and theological defences of marriage. For example the place of marriage and the role of fathers in the thinking of Aquinas and Luther are given close attention. Given that the male alienation from families is perhaps the most important social problem of today, this chapter offers insights and wisdom from generations past which shed considerable light on the way we might proceed on these key social questions today.
The concluding chapters seek to develop a practical theology of marriage and to examine world family strategies. He develops his theology of the family mainly from Christian considerations, although drawing on non-Christian resources as well. Catholic and Protestant considerations are investigated, and brief assessments are made of earlier formulations. He also examples various marriage renewal movements and programs found amongst the different denominations.
Global strategies to renew the institution of marriage are explored, with their strengths and weaknesses examined. From papal encyclicals of the Catholic church to the work of Allan Carlson and the Howard Center in Illinois, a number of marriage renewal projects are discussed. Common themes are drawn out and elaborated upon, and tentative proposals for the way ahead suggested.
Those wanting a "solution" to the "problem" of marriage will not find what they are looking for here. The problems are too complex and the situation too diverse to offer a magic pill of reform. At best Browning can only point to wisdom from the past coupled with insights from the present to guide us into the future.
But the foundational themes addressed here are the right place to begin: families are essential to the well-being of society; marriage is the centerpiece of strong family life; and all levels of society (governmental, cultural, educational and religious) need to contribute to the defence and promotion of the institution of marriage.
A meticulous and scholarly study.......2003-07-16
Marriage And Modernization: How Globalization Threatens Marriage And What To Do About It by Don S. Browning (Alexander Campbell Professor Emeritus of Ethics and the Social Sciences, University of Chicago Divinity School) is a meticulous and scholarly study of how globalization has impacted traditional matrimonial bonds worldwide (and for the worse) and just what can be done about the deteriorating state of marriage today. Clarion warnings and suggested ways to combat the erosion of marriage fill the pages of this critical, timely, thought-provoking and involving study of the integrity of the family, the nature of the threats it is under from militant feminism and other global trends, and strategies for its defense and continued survival through Christian-oriented cultural, social, and educational strategies.
Marriage Movement Praise.......2003-05-19
have to write a tribute to Don Browning's new book, "Marriage and
Modernization: How Globalization Threatens Marriage and What to Do About
It" (Eerdsman, 2003). It's one of the best scholarly books I've ever read
on contemporary marriage. It's a tour de force of historical analysis and
contemporary insights from the social sciences, with a unique emphasis on
what Christianity, in cooperation with other religions, can do to
strengthen marriage in our global age. Don Browning, a noted theologian
and social ethicist at the University of Chicago, may have the best mind in
the marriage movement, and is almost certainly the most widely read. This
book will forever influence my thinking about marriage in the modern world.
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