A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden Promise of Globalization

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Three and half stars

Demystifies Globalization but too optimistic?

Outstanding study of the drivers of globalization

Knowing the Unknowns

a welcomed contribution in the pursuit of reason

A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden Promise of Globalization
John Micklethwait , and Adrian Wooldridge
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization

ASIN: 060961083X
Release Date: 2001-08-14

Amazon.com

Globalization is the single most important force in the world today, write journalists John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, both of The Economist (and coauthors of The Witch Doctors):

The integration of the world economy is not only reshaping business but also reordering the lives of individuals, creating new social classes, different jobs, unimaginable wealth, and, occasionally, wretched poverty. From Washington to Beijing, politicians are increasingly defined in terms of their attitudes toward globalization. The key political arguments of the next few years--between Islam and the West, Euroskeptics and Europhiles, the new left and the old--will all be variations arising from one underlying conflict: the one between globalizers who want to see the world reshaped in their own image and traditionalists who want to preserve fragments of traditional culture and local independence.

Micklethwait and Wooldridge are advocates of the former, not the latter. In A Future Perfect--a rich synthesis of anecdote, analysis, and argument--they make a strong case both for globalization's economic benefits and its classically liberal underpinnings. They acknowledge frustration with public debates over globalization that "always seem to involve a shuttered textile factory in South Carolina, never a young African child sitting at a computer; always a burning Amazonian forest, never a young Brazilian investment banker; always The Lion King or the Spice Girls, never the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao." A Future Perfect relentlessly reports the upside of globalization--the book is full of stories--and makes the vital point that more than economics is at stake. At bottom, write Micklethwait and Wooldridge, the issue is freedom. They bemoan "restrictions on where people can go, what they can buy, where they can invest, and what they can read, hear, or see. Globalization by its nature brings down these barriers, and it helps to hand the power to choose to the individual." Like a good article in The Economist, A Future Perfect is well written and concise. It also renders complicated subjects understandable, and has the welcome effect of making readers feel smarter for having cracked its spine. Much has been written about globalization; this book may be the best of the bunch thus far. --John J. Miller

Book Description

A Future Perfect is the first comprehensive examination of the most important revolution of our time--globalization--and how it will continue to change our lives. The authors, John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, correspondents for The Economist, won the Financial Times/Booz Allen Hamilton Global Business Book Award on Strategy and Leadership for their previous collaboration, The Witch Doctors. In A Future Perfect, Micklethwait and Wooldridge expand their field of vision in order to analyze, demystify, and expose the global forces reshaping our world, and they detail both the challenge and the hidden promise those forces hold for individuals, businesses, and governments.

Do businesses benefit from going global? Are we creating winner-take-all societies? Will globalization seal the triumph of junk culture? What will happen to individual careers? Gathering evidence from the shantytowns of São Paolo to the boardroom of General Electric, from the troubled Russia-Estonia border to the booming San Fernando Valley sex industry, Micklethwait and Wooldridge mount a powerful, witty, levelheaded defense of globalization.

Along the way, the authors introduce us to the cosmocrats--the members of the elite business, information, and diplomatic class who are creating the new world order. They also identify the three engines of globalization and describe how people are managing and governing in an increasingly global era. As they did in The Witch Doctors, the authors also brilliantly puncture myths and conventional wisdom, separating false hopes from emerging realities.

Incisive, expansive, and optimistic, A Future Perfect is an illuminating tour of the global economy and a fascinating assessment of its potential impact.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Three and half stars.......2002-08-29

Okay, if you want a book with lots of anecdotes and quotations that try to prove that globalization is this uncontrollable process that must be accepted on its terms by individuals and governments, read Tom Friedman's "Lexus and Olive Tree" . If you want a more nuanced view, and a more critical examination of different aspects of globalization, read this book by Micklethwait and Aldridge.

"Future Perfect" also has lots of anecdotes , but somehow it feels like these anecdotes fit into an intelligent discussion, rather than being part of some breathless voyage of discovery like in Friedman's book.

Another difference is in coining of new terms. Friedman has a tedious list of terms like DOSKapital, glocalism etc . Micklethwait and ALdridge also coin terms. But more often they borrow refreshing terms from other authors and thinkers - and the result is much better. This also means that these authors are able to draw on the history of ideas , especially since the Enlightenment. And they do so by making these ideas extremely germane to the current discussion.

For instance, one of the great examples in the book is that of John Maynard Keynes who went from being an unmitigated free-trader to a proponent of protectionism and back to free trade again. This short but brilliant biographical sketch helps illustrate how fickle the world of ideas can sometimes be, and how the pendulum can swing in the other direction. This is to remind the "inevitability" school of thought that politics and local issues matter a LOT. Technological determinism is but a small part of the story. Globalization is not irreversible. Globalization appeared irreversible earlier too, and it was reversed quite easily by protectionst barriers and World Wars.

Also Micklethwait and Aldridge are too wise to indulge in the kind of exaggerated dramatization Tom Friedman indulges in. For instance, based on Intel's reluctance to enter France because of its restrictions on encryption technology, Friedman rushes to say - If France were a stock , I'd sell it. I am sure that if Micklethwait had dealt with the same question, he would have reached the more correct conclusion - yes, Intel's aversion to France is a problem for France, but not as big a problem as the technological determinists would have it.

This book examines almost every aspect of globalization critically. Is electronics responsible for the volatility of short-term capital? Yes and no. Is geography irrelevant in the global world? Yes and no. Is American culture really riding roughshod over local concerns? Yes and no. Is it really a winner-take-all world? Yes and no. And so on.....

Ultimately , for good understanding , you have to quantify, no matter how imprecisely. How interconnected are we really through trade? If Asia vanishes overnight, what effect will it have on the US economy? Once you start asking these questions, you reach a nuanced and mature understanding. Yes, trade as a share of GDP is rising. Yes, more globalization should mean more worldwide specialization and exchange, that is , more trade. Still there are important limits to this process, and domestic economies will remain extremely large. This book engages in this type of illuminating analysis , and does not rely on mere storytelling.

The book also spends lot of time addressing the critics and the sceptics of the globalization process. This is in contrast to Tom Friedman's book where his only (facetious)answer is something like - "Okay, the electronic herd is coming, if you don't heed its demands, you'll pay a heavy price".In this book, inequality, rich nations versus poor, shortterm capital flow versus capital controls, cultural hegemony versus cultural plurlaism - these are issues that are discussed in wonderfully more sophisticated fashion. The sceptics are met head on. Intelligent scepticism is countered. Stupid scepticism is dismissed. The authors offer their own answers and solutions, but they are wise enough to discuss all the caveats.

Also I haven't been able to spot any glaring mistakes in analysis in this book. As opposed to Tom Friedman's book, where he sometimes hopelessly mixes up chains of reasoning. For instance, Tom Friedman's book makes a weird connection between the winner-take-all phenomenon , and the fact that real incomes at the bottom are falling. Surely, technological change , and the resulting fall in demand for unskilled labor, is the strongest causal factor behind the falling wages. The winner-takes-all phenomenon can at best be a secondary factor. Micklethwait's book doesn't suffer from these kinds of bloopers.

Ultimately a good book, a complete book as far as coverage of topics go, and also entertaining reading.This may be the best book in its genre.... After reading this book , I am now terribly eager to read their earlier book about "Witch Doctors" .

Demystifies Globalization but too optimistic?.......2001-11-30

The main point of this book - with which I fully agree - is that globalization is hardly a new phenomenon. Most, if not even more, aspects of the current globalization also existed a century ago. Indeed, you might be forgiven for thinking that the free movement of people - emigration - in the world was arguably more global then than it is now. So the process is not new but it feels new, Why?. For starters it's only been slightly over ten years since the fall of Communism and the unfettered resurgence of the free market as the unquestionably dominant economic ideology. Nontheless, the process also feels new because most of us are still reluctant to concede authority to extranational bodies and institutions while national politics still operates in self contained systems. The main point is this, and it is my principal compalint about globalization, international or global power is still mostly limited to the financial markets and multinational corporations and less to supranational bodies like the EU. meanwhile, as we are ever in search of the best product and brand there is the job insecurity that results Fiom greater foreign competition and the cultural hegemony of the United States.

Outstanding study of the drivers of globalization.......2001-09-27

Exhaustively researched and thoroughly considered, A Future Perfect tries to communicate the "other view" of globalization, that of the economists and businesspeople who see its benefits to society. By presenting both sides of the story, then rebutting the anti-globalization viewpoint, Micklethwait and Woolridge nearly achieve their goal of proving globalization is a net positive to the world. Their understandable reluctance to prove many of the conclusions reached due to space and complexity considerations is the only frustrating aspect of this book -- the reader is ultimately left in the same position she started in: supportive of or repulsed by globalization.

That being said, the book is an incredibly rich discussion of the bewildering complexity of globalization. For someone not involved in the intimate details of the subject, the glimpses into the IMF, WTO, UN, national governments, and various other NGOs are fascinating, breathing life into a world only hinted at in news reports and magazine articles.

For anyone who really cares about the political and economic development path of the next 20 years (especially in light of the recent WTC bombings), and has not kept up with the leading edge of debate on the subject, this book is indispensable.

Knowing the Unknowns.......2001-09-24

A splendid piece of art explaining the different phases of Globalization. The authors continue to preach the need for an open economy and ongoing entrepreneurial mindset open to innovation with boldness to dare tread the unbounding realms of the business sphere.Our world is only limited in our minds and the benefits of wealth is unbounding,and yields itself willingly to those that are hungry enough to seek better ways of tranforming the traditional business norms.
We are barely scratching surface and the cycle of change has only begun.The benefits of Globalisation are phenomenal.

a welcomed contribution in the pursuit of reason.......2001-06-25

Reading this book is the closest experience to reading a 370-page Economist issue. It is more like a collection of essays than the ordinary book, yet the case presented is strong--take nothing for granted. It will be an interesting re-read in a few years.

A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden Promise of Globalization.(Review) (book review): An article from: Government Finance Review

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A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden Promise of Globalization.(Review) (book review): An article from: Government Finance Review
Nick Greifer
Manufacturer: Government Finance Officers Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Government Finance Review, published by Government Finance Officers Association on August 1, 2000. The length of the article is 524 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden Promise of Globalization.(Review) (book review)
Author: Nick Greifer
Publication: Government Finance Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 1, 2000
Publisher: Government Finance Officers Association
Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Page: 57

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes both chickenpox and zoster. Fundamental to their prevention is an understanding of the natural history of VZV infection. This is a compilation of papers presented in March 1999 in Osaka, Japan, by internationally renowned researchers studying varicella-zoster virus and a vaccine used to prevent disease caused by this virus. The aim of the meeting was to explore progress made in basic and molecular biology of VZV and current understanding of latent infection and reactivation. Data concerning immune responses to VZV, mechanisms by which virus latency are controlled, and the latest information on vaccination to prevent varicella and zoster are presented and discussed.

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This monograph deals with the practically unexplored field of the creation and development of architectural and engineering relations between France, Germany and Russia, in particular the 18 years of creativity in St. Petersburg by the self-taught engineer, Wilhelm von Traitteur (1788-1859).

Traitteur's main work, which placed him among the European construction art avant-garde of his time, is without doubt his five iron suspension bridges, erected between 1823 and 1826. The program for the construction of the first suspension bridges in Russia, initiated by the newly organized Russian Department of Transportation, headed by Duke Alexander von Württemberg, has to be regarded as part of a European-wide experimentation with new types of suspension bridge constructions. In addition, during the time of his co-operation with the founder of the Russian Department of Traffic Engineers, the Spaniard Augustin de Bétancourt (1758-1824), Traitteur was well known as an architect, draughtsman and co-founder of lithography in Russia. His lithographic albums are unique in their own way and contain valuable information on the construction and architecture of the day.

Apart from the biography, this book also treats previously little known aspects of the architectural and engineering history of Russia as part of the pan-European professional context of that time. These include the presentation of new findings in the transfer of civil engineering know-how between France, Germany and Eastern Europe, as well as the early development of iron constructions - a basic element of modern architecture and civil engineering.

Book Description

In nine essays and lectures composed in the last years of his life, Werner Heisenberg offers a bold appraisal of the scientific method in the twentieth century--and relates its philosophical impact on contemporary society and science to the particulars of molecular biology, astrophysics, and related disciplines. Are the problems we define and pursue freely chosen according to our conscious interests? Or does the historical process itself determine which phenomena merit examination at any one time? Heisenberg discusses these issues in the most far-ranging philosophical terms, while illustrating them with specific examples.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book .......2006-06-14

This is one of the most fluent book written over modern physics even for the non-physicist. His ideas on scientific tradition and scientific prejudice is quite striking. Definitely recommended. This is one book which I wished to be thicker...

Essays from Heisenberg's Later Years, 1972-1975.......2004-04-07

These essays were first published by Seabury Press in 1983 under the title Tradition in Science. A new edition, titled Encounters with Einstein And Other Essays on People, Places, and Particles, was published in 1989 by Princeton University Press.

Throughout his life Werner Heisenberg shared his enthusiasm for physics and philosophy, frequently giving presentations to general audiences. Several essays address the history of quantum physics. Others are more technical and include topics like cosmic radiation, particle physics, and closed-theories in physics. All essays are well-crafted and should be accessible to a wide audience.

Heisenberg only met Einstein on a few occasions. The title essay, Encounters with Einstein, describes these encounters, including a final meeting at Princeton a few months before Einstein's death. While he admitted that he had never discussed politics with Einstein, Heisenberg did comment on Einstein's pacifism. Heisenberg does not discuss his own beliefs, nor his role in WWII Germany.

At several points in this collection Heisenberg expresses his concerns with the theoretical direction that particle physics was taking in the early 1970s. In his essay "What is an Elementary Particle?", he expresses his doubts regarding quark theory. It was interesting to see Heisenberg in one essay lamenting Einstein's reluctance to accept quantum theory while elsewhere he himself was having difficulty with quark theory.

I highly recommend these essays for any reader wishing to become more acquainted with Heisenberg. Also, as a follow-up I suggest reading Philosophical Problems of Quantum Physics, a collection of Heisenberg's lectures that span 1932-1948.

The more persistent reader might be interested in Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science. This work by Heisenberg is more philosophical and requires careful reading. This volume benefits from a lengthy and scholarly overview by F. S. C. Northrop, Sterling Professor of Philosophy and Law, Yale University.

The retrospective of a man with a two-sided past.......2002-04-26

This book reminds me a great deal of, "A Mathematician's Apology" by Hardy. Like Hardy, Heisenberg is in his last years, and knows that his productive ones are behind him. Therefore, he puts forward a series of essays and lectures that are a retrospective of his activity in physics as well as some philosophical thoughts concerning where he believes it is going.
Heisenberg was a Nobel prize winner and the first enunciator of the uncertainty principle that bears his name. For these reasons, his thoughts on some of the consequences of the principle are well worth reading. However, Heisenberg is also known for other, more dark reasons. He was the director of the German atomic projects in World War II and seemed to have little difficulty in working under the Nazi tyranny while many of his colleagues were hounded and executed. He also proved to be an effective survivor, becoming the head of the Max Planck Institute of Physics in West Germany after the war.
This involvement with the Nazis makes the chapter "Encounters and Conversations with Albert Einstein" fascinating reading. From it, you would not know about his record of collaboration with the regime that tried to exterminate Einstein and his ideas. One must read that chapter very carefully and do a great deal of reading between the lines to really understand what is being said. The fact that Einstein was willing to meet with Heisenberg after the war tells a lot more about Einstein that it does about Heisenberg.
This book is interesting as much for what is not said as it is for what is said. This was an opportunity for Heisenberg to say something about his involvement in some very bad things as well as to put forward thoughts about physics. The first was missed and the second was a hit. If you are interested in some thoughts about how physics has evolved this century from one of best practitioners, then this is a book that will interest you.

Insight and inspiration.......2000-07-17

This is an excellent bedside book for anyone interested in the development of quantum mechanics by one of its primary discoverers. This small book of short essays provides insight into the life and personality of one of the greatest (and most enigmatic) physicists of the 20th century. This is not a technical book, nor is it an introduction to (or explaination of) quantum theory. Rather, each essay provides a unique sidebar on a variety of topics to which WH has either contributed directly or considered in detail. Heisenberg is a lucid and concise writer of remarkable insight.

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The Feminine Sublime provides a new and startling insight into the modes and devices employed in the creation of women's fiction since the eighteenth century. Barbara Claire Freeman argues that traditional theorizations of the sublime depend upon unexamined assumptions about femininity and sexual difference, and that the sublime could not exist without misogynistic constructions of "the feminine." Taking this as her starting point, Freeman suggests that the "other sublime" that comes into view from this new perspective not only offers a crucial way to approach representations of excess in women's fiction, but allows us to envision other modes of writing the sublime.
Freeman reconsiders Longinus, Burke, Kant, Weiskel, Hertz, and Derrida while also engaging a wide range of women's fiction, including novels by Chopin, Morrison, Rhys, Shelley, and Wharton. Addressing the coincident rise of the novel and concept of the sublime in eighteenth-century European culture, Freeman allies the articulation of sublime experience with questions of agency and passion in modern and contemporary women's fiction. Arguments that have seemed merely to explain the sublime also functioned to evaluate, domesticate, and ultimately exclude an otherness that is almost always gendered as feminine. Freeman explores the ways in which fiction by American and British women, mainly of the twentieth century, responds to and redefines what the tradition has called "the sublime."

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