Globalization Books

This is a fabulous book. It really makes you think. As I read it, the lyrics of John Lennon's song "Imagine" went through my mind. This book makes you understand how we could really have a world at peace.

One World Democracy is an 'additional reading' assignment for my politcal science class. I wasn't expecting to find it quite so interesting. The author presents some very viable options for creating peace and protecting our environment. We had great classroom discussions about some of the concepts in this book.

This book is poised to reignite a classic discussion in world federalism that was popular in the nineteen-forties. The case for global federation is made by stating the deficiency of the antiquated nation-state system. The authors liken the current nation-state system to a form of international anarchy, where the peace is fragile and fleeting, held together by nothing more than a loose set of easily breakable treaties, and a low tide in friction between uneven and disparate economic and ideological interests. It is made clear by this book that the absence of enforceable global law creates a fertile medium for war, ecological destruction, and other planetary woes.

A very interesting point made here is that the manifestation of some kind of world governing body is a natural and inevitable course in political evolution which has its beginnings when the first primal families form larger tribal structures. We are being held artificially at the level of nationalism due to a primitive desire to cling to group social identity and the lucrative rewards that perpetual warfare and polarization bring the Machiavellian minded elite.

Of no surprise, the failures and insufficiencies of the United Nations are made mentioned here, along with the realization that the UN may have outgrown its usefulness. In place of the United Nations there are listed, a number of embryonic organizations old and new that are dedicated to world federalism. These could prove viable alternatives to the UN due to the knowledge that the United Nations has a stained record in the eyes of many.

The authors do bear to mention some of the caution and concerns of moving toward a world government, however only briefly. This is something deserving greater attention being that there are those interests concealed from public view, who stand ready to exploit any such scenario. The writers do acknowledge that the best way to keep a world democracy or republic from descending into tyranny, is to have an ever vigilant and informed populace with a well defined charter of rights. A grassroots movement of the people toward world government is stressed in this book. This should be imperative in the mind of the reader because any surreptitious design, precoordinated and handed down to the masses via the plutocratic, would probably result in the New World Order that so many fear.

With that aside, I do recommend this book to all who dream of a borderless world, free of walls, passports, and relentless xenophobia. A world where we are all planetary citizens. Let us move foward with this idea, but let's move with discernment.

Enjoyable read. Easy to understand. I have read many books on globalization and while not quite the length of some of the others, it hold great information told in a easy manner. What's more, this book was written by a high school student. It gives me great hope for our coming generations when young people such as this author can come up with such great ideas. Good job.

Great insight into the reasoning behind a "one government" policy for the world. Good reasoning backed up with facts showed me, as a reader, the reasons that a globalizaed governement must happen. This book was a great little read. Its only problem was it was a little short. 4 stars

This short book is a good example of the recent upsurge in independent publishing. The book is a great little resource of information on globalization. This included what it is, how it is possible, and what are some possible outcomes for a globalized humanity. I greatly advise this book to anybody interested in this subject or anything to do with government or philosophy. I'll give it 5 stars for the great info and effort. Bill

the correct title is: "The Rebel Within: Joseph Stiglitz and the World Bank"

I understand this book to be a very clear description of what is missing in the way the international financial organizations address the problems of developing countries. But there is more to say about one of the core problems in our countries and that is the weakness or the lack of institutions and as a result of this ..corruption and worst....impunity. Politicians no matter what party..protect each other. A lot of people's money goes to the pockets of a few ... money that should be spent in education and health. Some of this money comes from the WB , IDB , etc...

Giving it a little more thought..maybe this kind of arrangement is the best situation for these corrupted third world politicians and for the big multinational firms and financial institutions that lend them money...to keep the people in poor countries ignorant and illiterate so that the big firms can keep their advantages with unlimited cheap labor pools. Sure , maybe this situation is viewed as a comparative advantage or just as business strategies by the big firms..but for our own politicians-gangsters ....this is a major crime and should be treated as such...If we just could !!!

Why keep lending money to be used by these thieves?? Well, maybe some goes back to the source...banking accounts in developed nations or comsumption of luxury goods manufactured in the hometown of some of the top brass in some Bank. Who knows?? Believe me.. ,it is not funny to see the son of some new-rich state official driving the last model Lexus SUV with your money!!! Why we the people do not do something about it?? How?? Going to the corrupted legal institutions or to the corrupted police?? Going to the streets and making justice with our own hands and then be accused of terrorists or leftist anti-free market mob and risk an invasion by the US Marine Corps??? Voting??? Give me a break!!! We often see on TV the prez of the USA drinking coffee and chating with some these third world politician-mobsters in his oval office ....Why???

Mr. Stiglitz certainly has clarified and explained the problems we face ...but the solutions are not easy to undertake. There are too many factors involved and the one that could make a difference...to change the mindset of the people...means nothing less than a mental rebirth and a total destruction of all cultural heritage....And this could take centuries....or some sort of dictatorship.... Is there any hope for us???

Stiglitz, who is the former Chairman of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers and Chief Economist of the World Bank, won the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics (younger than Milton Friedman had been when he won his Nobel). This moderate pragmatist can hardly be called a soft leftie and yet his stinging attack on the IMF and the World Bank (both organizations intensely disliked by Republican rightwingers) is both surprising......and perfectly justified, in my view. He develops this theme more fully in his other book "Globalization and Its Discontents," while this small book is a good extract of his economic philosophy. In his many public speeches and statements Chairman Joe lends the full weight of his considerable authority to China-boosters and China-lovers everywhere. But his frequently expressed optimism of China's economic prospects is not his main point - he uses China as an example to show why and how you can avoid messing things up if you use the right methods.

In these postmodern times so punctuated with irony, a book entitled The Search for Meaning: A Short History is as likely as not to be a lampoon of the very idea of finding meaning in our crazy world. But this modest and remarkably lucid book by Dennis Ford is decidedly not a joke. As Ford realizes, human beings need an overarching context or system of meaning-making to make sense of the fragility and uncertainty of life.

In his "short history," he elegantly articulates the fundamentals of eight paradigms by which we have grasped reality and our place in it. Ford's goal is not to answer the question, "What is the meaning of life?" but is instead to focus on how human beings have made meaning. Cutting through the bewildering complexity of the myriad ways humanity has taken up this task, he divides the field into "classical" and contemporary sources of meaning, and sees the latter as blending aspects of the classical approaches in light of postmodernity's nihilism. Presenting each with balance and appreciation for its relative strengths and weaknesses, Ford's distinctions are often surprising, but they arise from his intent to create an admittedly simplified taxonomy of the ways that human beings relate to, and discover, purpose. While understanding how we make meaning is still quite mysterious, Ford succeeds admirably in delineating the ways that have thus far been made available.

To be honest, I have not quite finished this book, but as a person who has been reading about meaning and belief for the past 15 years, I would like to say that this is not just for beginners.

Yes, it provides a wonderful framework for those just starting to explore the field of meaning and belief and all the religious, psychological and philosophical underpinnings those viewpoints depend on. But it's also wonderful review for the longtime student. The field is so wide and deep that sometimes ideas fall out of awareness or get lost in the shuffle, and this book brings them back to mind.

Perhaps if I were a brilliant person with a iron-trap memory, this book would be superfluous; since I am just an ordinary person -- with an extraordinary interest in the philosophy and psychology of belief -- I find it quite enjoyable. (Some of my efforts to understand belief have been documented on my Web site called "Rumors of Order" at fobes.net)

The Biblical archetype of Eden and the fall from Paradise tells the story of meaning in our lives. We once lived unselfconsciously in a way in which the question of meaning never arose. In the course of our lives the world has tightened its grasp around our necks, and we have fallen from the garden; the world is no longer as we had naievely envisioned it to be, and we are self-conscious and alienated - separated from the world we once took such enjoyment in. We are now searching to get back into the garden, to reclaim our original seat in Paradise.

The Search For Meaning magnificently fleshes out the many ways that man has sought to infuse his life with meaning and purpose and regain his original state of harmony. In all, eight traditional ways of seeking (and creating) a meaningful life are explored and explained: myth, philosophy (Plato), science (Aristotle and the resulting modernist movement), postmodernism, pragmatism (William James), archetypal psychology, metaphysics, and naturalism. Ford explicates each view on its own ground, so to speak, and concludes each chapter by asking (and investigating) four basic questions: What do we know? How do we know? What does ______ emphasize and what does it neglect? What does ______ have to say about meaning?

Huston Smith, a renowned scholar whom Ford references, said about The Search For Meaning, "This book weaves a tapestry so encompassing, so intriguingly beautiful, I am stunned by its accomplishment." So one would advise not to be falsely persuaded by negative opinions.

To take a harsh and negative attitude towards anything obviously blinds one to the usefulness and benefit of what one is speaking of. One of our most fundamental oversights is that we are so quick to label things as good or bad, without looking into them very deeply. To speak in terms of good and bad fails see the relevancy of the subject's purpose. As stated in the title, it is a short history - so obviously it will lack the depth of a book examining any one topic or idea. For example, Ford touches on Aristotle's contributions to science and the modern worldview, but fails to investigate Aristotle's own conception of the purpose of human existence (eudaimonia, literally "the good life"). Yet, an investigation into the significance of Aristotle's theory would be of a length and content unsuitable to a `short history' - Ford must over-generalize and omit certain details. Such an intention should not be seen as a fault, as the synthesis of these topics as they relate to the most basic of all human questions can be very personally (and culturally) revealing as well as intellectually stimulating.

If one is well versed in the literature Ford considers, much of this book may be a review. However, if one is just beginning to investigate into the meaning of life and how it has been dealt with throughout history, the value of this book will be immense. Even if one is well read, the simplicity of the author's outlook will help to uncover basic themes and points that could quite easily go overlooked. For instance, one might read many Greek myths but fail to see how they influence the people who identified with them, and further fail to notice the presence of myth in one's own life and culture. To see the uses, applications, and limitations of outlooks that are so culturally innate (i.e. myth, science, postmodernism, etc.) is so illuminating that one cannot possibly articulate the proper thanks to Ford for writing this book.

FIRST: A very important note! As I file this review today, I see 2 other reviews on Amazon, both written in 2007. Those comments -- one praise and one criticism -- are NOT referring to this new edition released in late 2008.

With this new edition in print, I say:

Bravo to Dan Smith and the atlas gurus at the University of California Press. As a journalist specializing in covering religion and culture for leading U.S. newspapers for more than 30 years, I can tell you: It's volumes like this one that people should keep on their personal quick-reference shelves. That's especially true for preachers, teachers, small-group leaders, students -- and, really, anyone who cares about accurately understanding our turbulent world.

One sign of how much Smith and the University of California Press care about the accuracy of their work is the fact that this is a new Revised and Updated Second Edition of the book, coming quickly on the heels of the first. Smith is head of a UK-based peacemaking group International Alert. He has created other important reference works, including "The Atlas of War and Peace." The Press is publishing an entire series of innovative atlases. Among my own favorites are "The Atlas of Religion" and "The Atlas of Food: Who Eats What, Where, and Why."

Americans have the illusion in the early years of this new century that we carry the world in our pockets 24-7 with our ultra-connected electronic devices. But the truth is that "foreign news" is the most rapidly shrinking area of U.S. news coverage, overall, according to Pew data. What we see, hear and read is really a tiny slice of global news mostly about consumer products and popular culture, occasionally spiced with disconnected splashes of coverage from global hot spots. We wind up with bizarrely skewed impressions of the world -- and most of us sadly fail the basic geography tests that are popularly distributed each year. For example, most of us in America can't correctly place Iran on a global map.

In stark contrast to that challenge, this book is not only a source of useful wisdom -- but it's also downright fun! It's colorful. It's intriguing. You can build clever quizzes from this book to engage students.

Go on -- get it. And contribute to peacemaking simply by knowing a little more about our world.

If you are interested in this theme buyed because is really good.

Unfortunately, the care and attention to the maps that went into previous works by this author (I think here especially of his 1982 collaboration with Michael Kidron, "The War Atlas",) does not seem to have gone into this one. The maps have some glaring errors in them -- but apart from that, instead of letting the maps tell the story (as is done in "The War Atlas" and "The State of the World Atlas",) the author instead relies mostly on text to tell the story -- text that does not seem to have been extensively researched. I even noticed a few typographical errors in my copy.

This is probably useful as a starting point (and ONLY a starting point) for someone with absolutely no knowledge of the Middle East, but I wouldn't take any of the numbers offered here to the bank.

"...a thoughtful and provocative book on how global capitalism may evolve" Jeffrey Garten, Dean of Yale Management School

I disagree with the conclusions which contain a good deal of left-wing simplifications and pessimism (I believe that Germany and Japan will preserve many of their characteristics and prosper!). However, no doubt an interesting piece of work, which I recommend especially now that changes in the two countries mentioned above are finally accelerating (while the US is starting a phase of decline after a very successful decade).

This review appeared in JEL, Dec. 2002, by RICHARD A. WERNER Sophia University, Tokyo.

Hardly a day passes without the financial press asserting that Japan's economic structure is responsible for the long recession and demanding "badly needed" structural changes. The results of a decade of apparently vigorous counter-cyclical policies have been disappointing. It is therefore not surprising that many experts agree with the Bank of Japan's argument that deep structural reforms are needed to enhance growth. A similar story is being told about Germany. Recent economic weakness is seen by the European Central Bank as evidence that structural re-form is "needed"-a view enthusiastically sup-ported by the financial press (who, according to Dore, constitute an interested party benefiting from the "financialization" that results from introducing U.S.-style capitalism). As Francis Fukuyama argued, the "Anglo-Saxon" free market and stock market based system has become the global standard. It is this mainstream view that Ronald Dore's important and refreshing book is directed against. It deserves praise not just for Dore's courage in defending an unpopular cause.

The book is very timely: it points out the advantages of German/Japanese welfare capitalism just when it is becoming an endangered species. It is rich in detail, yet surprisingly concise. It is analytical, yet highly readable and full of illuminating examples. It combines an eye for macro-economic implications with sound micro-economic and management- level insights. Finally, Dore's book provides an analysis of the ongoing pressures on welfare capitalism and how its salient features are now changing. Dore's readers benefit from his decades of experience and seminal work on the Japanese firm. The relatively smaller weight given to Germany is the book's main (though acknowledged) weakness.

Dore identifies key features that make Ger-man/ Japanese capitalism different from the "Anglo- Saxon" variety familiar from textbooks. The former produces benefits due to its cooperative nature and long-term orientation. The Anglo-Saxon model is good for the shareholders. The Germans and Japanese maintained market mechanisms, but eliminated shareholders as the main beneficiaries. Instead of serving the few, a form of capitalism was born that succeeded in creating a decent quality of life for the many- employees and society at large.

Dore is a must-read for any economist, precisely because he challenges our preconceptions. As is increasingly recognized in the literature, once unrealistic assumptions such as perfect information and efficient markets are relaxed, there is no guarantee that markets left to their own devices will produce socially optimal results. The designers of the German and Japanese systems based their institutional designs on a more realistic description of the world. By focusing on mutually beneficial cooperation and coordination, they managed to internalize externalities, minimize information costs, and, most of all, motivate individuals. They recognized that "utility functions" are interdependent, people compete in hierarchical fashion and have a common desire for justice and fairness of organizational arrangements. Recent growth theories acknowledge the importance of the human resource aspect of "labor." While neglected in static models and policy advice, human resources are at the center of the German/Japanese model.

With regard to the premise that capital is the scarce resource and that "labor" will normally be in fairly abundant supply, Dore says, "It is amazing that anyone can seriously sustain this view in a world awash with so much liquidity that its movement from one country to another keeps exchange rates in perpetual motion" (p. 15). Human resource mobilization requires institutional design. "The whole discussion of modal behavioral dispositions as a factor in the functioning of economic systems tends to be avoided among economists who wish to believe that what they teach their students are theorems about THE economy, determined by the universal utility function of MAN" (p. 38). Not so in Japan, where people tend "to be good at discerning possibilities of cooperation which can be of general benefit, and at devising organizational forms which can reap those benefits in ways which all participants can consider fair" (p. 38).

One such organizational form is the system of industry associations, which are modern incarnations of the medieval guild structure. Due to their public goods character, resulting cartels may be welfare-enhancing. The cooperative orientation does not mean there is no competition. As Dore explains well, competition can be fierce, as the system combines markets and hierarchies. The tendency towards the formation of cartels is counteracted by relatively low concentration ratios in many industries (due to bank finance and cross-shareholdings which result in fewer hostile takeovers) and inter-firm rivalry due to lifetime employment.

Just when economists are beginning to recognize these issues, Germany and Japan are moving toward adopting the Anglo-Saxon model. These changes increase "financialization" and thus the share of economic activity devoted to profit-seeking by shifting ownership certificates from A to B. Adopting U.S.-style capitalism means that Germany and Japan are importing its disadvantages and social problems. Dore asks: Can it be efficient to devote ever more people to servicing "gambling on uncertainties in financial markets" with analysis, advice, appraisal, advertising? As increasingly strong shareholders demand "value," will social welfare or overall fairness increase? One issue remains: If it is so successful, why is Dore one of the few to defend welfare capitalism?

Recent weak economic performance is blamed on the system, and it is seen to have out-lived its usefulness. Whether this is really true must be investigated, though it is beyond the scope of Dore's book. In my forthcoming book (2003, Princes of the Yen, Japan's Central Bankers and the Structural Transformation of the Economy, Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe) I provide evidence that the Japanese recession was not due to the economic structure but instead to a central bank aiming at dismantling welfare capitalism.

All in all, Dore's book succeeds in raising and illuminating these challenging issues. It deserves much attention. It also shows the need for further research on this topic-and soon, before this species of capitalism becomes extinct.

This is an essential text if one wishes to be involved in a contemporary discussion in architecture. It opposes the Jenck's iconic idealism. I am constantly referencing this text in graduate studies in architecture.

I believe that Hans Ibelings Pretty much describes a fenomena happening world wide as a cultural effect, in plain and simple words.

It would be a good idea, for some of the customer reviewers on here, if they first learned what reviewing books means. For example, the author of the immediately preceding review thinks this book is bad -- deserving only one star -- because the bookseller has not delivered it to him yet. How sad...

This was a wonderful book. I enjoyed every minute of it. I can't wait for the sequel;-) It is done in a context that sheds some light on historical events woven into to a compelling personal story.

Enhanced with the inclusion of twenty b/w photographs and two maps, Twilight People: One Man's Journey To Find His Roots by David Houze is the remarkable and true story of one man's determination to discover his familial heritage and find the three sisters he and his mother had left behind them in South Africa in 1966 to come to live in America. Following Houze through an epic journey that began with the discovery of his sisters in a photograph and his mother's confession concerning their existence, Twilight People simply captivates its readers in a kind of real life detective story through the persistent efforts Houze had to exert in seeking out the members of his long lost family. As the intimate and inspiring tale of one man's incredible struggle to reconnect with three sisters he'd lost contact with so long ago, Twilight People is very highly recommended reading and a welcome addition to any community library collection.

The George Gund Foundation "endowed this imprint to advance understanding of the history, culture, and current issues of African Americans" we learn in the front-metter of "Twilight People," by David Houze. Their money has been well-spent. Subtitled "One Man's Journey to Find His Roots" I think of Alex Haley's ground-breaking book "Roots" so many years ago, and how how well-spent this journey is to re-locate David Houtze in his true life and a truer sense of family--on two continents. Another touchstone at the beginning of "Twilight People" are two maps--Mississippi and Southern Africa.

David's story moves from a life of odd jobs, a residence hotel, a mouthful of rotting teeth, and family secrets through an unfunded investigation to uncover those family secrets--while creating not a little family chaos of his own along the way. But, the truth will out, and with it the pus and gangrene that has kept the family wounds from healing. Strands of reconcilation provide hope at book's end.

David has gracefully set his personal story in the context of racial politics in Mississippi and The Republic of South Africa. His research is good enough that it's not labored and we can clearly see the connections between the two places--with his life and the life of his family serving as the object lesson. Focusing on racial hybrids and the complexities surrounding their acceptance and base of power is a genuine contribution to the literature of race.

Truth is the fruit of his search: true work, truth within the family, and a truer sense of himself. Who could ask for more?

--Janet Grace Riehl, author Sightlines: A Poet's Diary

Like an inspired mosaic (originally a Muslim art form) author and editor Jennifer Heath has assembled a stunning array of twenty-one essays by women on all aspects of veiling across the ages and a variety of cultures including the controversial concerns of our day. This collection raises many questions and provides a diversity of answers from women of all faiths and political persuasions.

A very revealing and insightful book. A compilation of 21 essays, all written by women - Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu...; from all parts of the globe; provides an illuminating history of the veil throughout the ages and into the 21st century. The practice of the veil is explained, challenged, justified, criticized, honored, as it rips through the stereotype i.e. the oppressed Muslim woman.
Is the veil oppressive or is it liberating?
Is it imposed or is it by choice?
It does make you think!
And it does make you wonder!
The essays are priceless!

This book gives a wonderful overview of have women see themselves and how they can be seen.

Chesterman, director of an international institute at New York University, has made an original study of how new institutions can be created in such war-damaged countries as Bosnia, Cambodia, and East Timor. In his book the weight of the subject and the depth of the research are supported by wit, candor, brevity, and analytical writing of a very high order. Although the occupation of Iraq is just one of many cases that Chesterman considers, his book provides, among other things, a guide to the problems of transitional occupation that is extraordinarily relevant to America's current difficulties.
-- Brian Urquhart - New York Review of Books (Vol 51, No 14)

Transitional administrations represent the most complex operations attempted by the United Nations. The missions in Kosovo (1999-) and East Timor (1999-2002) are commonly seen as unique in the history of the United Nations. But they may also be seen as the latest in a series of operations that have involved the United Nations in 'state-building' activities, in which it has attempted to develop the institutions of government by assuming some or all of those sovereign powers on a temporary basis. Viewed in the light of earlier UN operations, such as those in Namibia (1989-1990), Cambodia (1992-1993), and Eastern Slavonia (1996-1998), the idea that these exceptional circumstances may not recur is somewhat disingenuous. The need for policy research in this area was brought into sharp focus by the weighty but vague responsibilities assigned to the United Nations in Afghanistan (2002-) and its contested role in Iraq (2003-).

This book seeks to fill that gap. Aimed at policy-makers, diplomats, and a wide academic audience (including international relations, political science, international law, war studies and development studies), the book provides a concise history of transitional administration and a treatment of the five key issues confronting such operations: peace and security, the role of the United Nations as government, establishing the rule of law, economic reconstruction, and exit strategies. Research for the book has been conducted through extensive field research and interviews with key UN staff and local representatives in almost all of the territories under consideration. The unifying theme is that, while the ends of transitional administration may be idealistic, the means cannot be.

Essential for:

Scholars and students of politics and international relations, especially those interested in UN state-building operations, international law, democracy studies, conflict resolution, and globalization.

Chapters cover the topics of colonies and occupied territories: transitional administration through the 20th century, the evolution of UN peace operations, the use of force to maintain law and order, the question of whether a benevolent foreign autocracy can build democracy, the rule of law in post-conflict territories, the politics of humanitarian and development assistance, elections and exit strategies, and the future of state-building.

Chesterman looks at the UN's role in countries' transitions from war to peace through periods of international supervision. Elections can be part of a state-building project or peace process: in Cambodia in 1992-93 the UN empowered a transitional administration which held elections and then withdrew. But UN administrations have held election after election in Bosnia since 1995, and in Kosovo since 1999, but show no signs of leaving.

The `Ombudsperson Institution' in Kosovo reported in 2002 that the UN `Interim' Administration there "is not structured according to democratic principles, does not function in accordance with the rule of law, and does not respect important international human rights norms. The people of Kosovo are therefore deprived of protection of their basic rights and freedoms three years after the end of the conflict by the very entity set up to guarantee them."

In Iraq, troops will stay after the January election, till the end of 2005, we are told. But this hostile military occupation after an illegal invasion is neither building an independent state, nor achieving peace. Likewise in Afghanistan: rebuilding there is negligible (completed reconstruction projects totalled less than $200 million by May 2003), and warlords still rule the country.

The US state has interpreted civil wars, humanitarian crises, lack of democracy, and `failed and failing states' as `threats to international peace and security', and has taken control of such states. Its constants are military occupation for bases, pipelines and oil, in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq alike. Colonialism is now rightly condemned as an international crime, but the US state still does it, under UN cover. And the record indeed shows that a foreign autocracy cannot build democratic, sovereign states.