In Defense of Globalization - Softcover

Bhagwati, Jagdish

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195300033 ISBN 13: 9780195300031

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2005

Synopsis

In the passionate debate that currently rages over globalization, critics have been heard blaming it for a host of ills afflicting poorer nations, everything from child labor to environmental degradation and cultural homogenization. Now Jagdish Bhagwati, the internationally renowned economist, takes on the critics, revealing that globalization, when properly governed, is in fact the most powerful force for social good in the world today. Drawing on his unparalleled knowledge of international and development economics, Bhagwati explains why the "gotcha" examples of the critics are often not as compelling as they seem. With the wit and wisdom for which he is renowned, Bhagwati convincingly shows that globalization is part of the solution, not part of the problem.

About this title

About the Author:

Jagdish Bhagwati is University Professor at Columbia University and Senior Fellow in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He writes frequently for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times and is the author of Free Trade Today, The Wind of the Hundred Days: How Washington Mismanaged Globalization, and A Stream of Windows: Unsettling Reflections on Trade, Immigration, and Democracy. He lives in New York City.

Review:

"Once again, Columbia University economist Jagdish Bhagwati has weighed into the increasingly partisan and ideological debate over trade, offshore outsourcing and globalization. And once again, it is worth listening to.... What's most important about this book is its caution about
globalization --namely, that it has to be managed, both in terms of how quickly it proceeds and what policies are put in place to reduce its unpleasant economic and social side effects."--Washington Post

"Bhagwati combines the hard-nosed perspective of a liberal on trade and investment with the soft-hearted sensitivities of a social democrat on poverty and human welfare. He thus has an admirable ability to address patiently and sympathetically globalization's well-meaning but wrong-headed
critics.... A cogent, erudite, and, indeed, enjoyable discussion of economic globalization and its discontents."--Foreign Affairs

"Mr. Bhagwati slams through fact after fact, statistic after statistic, demolishing those who claim the poor are worse off because of globalization. He warns that many problems of poor countries are self-inflicted, such as trade barriers against one another. If Mr. Bhagwhati doesn't get a much
deserved Nobel Prize for economics, he should get one for literature. His writing sparkles with anecdotes and delightful verbal pictures."--Mike Moore, New York Sun

"Does the international market economy worsen poverty in developing countries? Does it erode democracy? Hurt the cause of women? Trash the environment? Exacerbate the exploitation of child labor? Bhagwati's answers to all these questions make for a supremely worthy read."--Business 2.0
Magazine

"One of the world's leading international trade theorists.... Bhagwati takes on many antiglobalist arguments, showing them to be overblown or groundless. The lot of women and children improves with the opening of markets, and the environment too, not to mention the chances for democracy....
Accessible and clearly argued. There is, one might say, a wealth of material on every page."--Bruce Bartlett, The Wall Street Journal

"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

"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

"If Bhagwati can't convert the unbelievers into enthusiastic globalizers, probably no one can. . . . Bhagwati demonstrates admirable fairness toward his opponents. . . . [A]n amusing, charming and erudite debater."--Paul Gray, New Leader

"This work is of major importance, as it authoritatively tackles the main intellectual charges against globalization.... Hopefully, this book will convince at least some of those who gullibly joined the fashionable, but dangerous anti-globalization movement that in doing so they have actually
abandoned themselves to the devices of intellectual manipulators, political demagogues, and economic reactionaries. The post-Cold War era's dominant economic trend finally gets its defense sheet." --Jerusalem Post

"Passionate and well-reasoned.... In Defense of Globalization probably won't dissuade ardent trade opponents from their protests. But if they expect to have a reasoned debate--or even to know what it is they're protesting against--they'll need to read it."--Bill Day, San Antonio
Express-News

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0195300033
• ISBN 13: 9780195300031
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320