Author: Jagdish Bhagwati
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 308
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0195670515
Description
Globalization has been blamed for everything from child labor to environmental degradation, cultural homogenization, and a host of other ills affecting rich and poor nations alike. Not a day goes by without impassioned authors and activists, whether anti-or pro-globalization, putting their oars into these agitated waters.
When all is said, however, we lack a clear, coherent and comprehensive sense of how globalization works, and how it might be made to work better. Enter Jagdish Bhagwati, the internationally renowned economist, known equally for the clarity of his arguments and the sharpness of his pen. In this book, Bhagwati takes on globalization’s critics, using sound economic principles and vivid examples rather than inflamed rhetoric, to show that globalizations is in fact the most powerful force for social good in the world today.
Bhagwati explains why the Gotcha examples are often not as they seem-that in fact globalization often alleviates many of the problems for which it has been blamed. Bhagwati carefully explains the fallacies that underlie many of the critics’ arguments, suggesting that there is a good reason why most globalization protesters come from rich rather than poor countries. Exploring globalization’s human face in great detail, Bhagwati demonstrates its beneficial effects on a panoply of social issues including poverty, child labor, women’s rights, democracy, wage and labor standards, and the environment. He concludes that by focusing so much on globalizations purported evils, we are missing the opportunity to focus on accelerating its achievements while coping with its downsides.
Often controversial and always compelling, Jagdish Bhagwati here provides at last a book that cuts through the noise on this most contentious issue, showing that globalization is part of the solution, not part of the problem. Anyone who wants to understand what’s at stake in the globalization wars will want to read In Defence of Globalization.
REVIEWS
This is the book that everyone has been waiting for. Jagdish Bhagwati thoughtfully considers the arguments of the anti-Globalization movement and shows the peril they pose to world development.
-George Akerlof, University of California at Berkeley, 2001 Nobel Laureate in Economics
The new century's major economic issue is Globalization, Yes? or Globalization, No? Columbia University's Bhagwati, regarded as a master economist by all trade experts, has prepared for the intelligent public an even-handed analysis of the pros and cons. Read and ponder.
-Paul A. Samuelson, M.I.T., Nobel laureate in Economics
An important contribution to an often incoherent debate. As we expect of Mr. Bhagwati, it is cogently argued and well written. It sets out a persuasive case in favor of globalization. And because of Mr. Bhagwati's impeccable credentials, there is a better chance his book will be given a fair hearing than might be the case with some other authors. Put simply, Mr. Bhagwati has street cred.
-Anne Krueger (Acting Director of the IMF), Financial Times
An outstandingly effective book, Until further notice In Defense of Globalization becomes the standard general-interest reference, the intelligent layman's handbook, on global economic integration.
-The Economist
His charming cosmopolitanism will also allay the fears of critics convinced that economists are incapable of appreciating non-economic values. Literary references flow from the pages, from Lady Murasaki to King Lear to Woody Allen.
-New York Times Book Review
Contents
PREFACE
COPING WITH ANTI-GLOBALIZATION
Anti-Globalization: why?
Globalization: Socially, Not Just Economically, Benign
Globalization Is Good but Not Good Enough
Non-Governmental Organizations
GLOBALIZATION’S HUMAN FACE: TRADE AND CORPORATIONS
Poverty: Enhanced or Diminished?
Child Labor: Increased or Reduced?
Women: Harmed or Helped?
Democracy at Bay?
Culture Imperiled or Enriched?
Wages and Labor Standards at Stake?
Environment in Peril?
Corporations: Predatory or Beneficial?
OTHER DIMENSIONS OF GLOBALIZATION
The Perils of Gung-ho International Financial Capitalism
International Flows of Humanity
APPROPRIATE GOVERNANCE: MAKING GLOBALIZATION WORK BETTER
Appropriate Governance: An Overview
Coping with Downsides
Accelerating the Achievement of Social Agendas
Managing Transitions: Optimal, Not Maximal, Speed
IN CONCLUSION
And So, Let Us Begin Anew
Glossary: Acronyms, Phrases and Concepts
Notes
Index