The Price of Civilization – Economics and Ethics After the Fall Jeffrey Sachs, Random House, 2011 Sachs says, “Much of this book is about the social responsibility of the rich” and about society’s shared values and the need to plan ahead to achieve common goals. The book is also a diagnosis of the failure of the American economy to achieve society’s common goals since the 1970’s and makes recommendations
Endgame; The End of the Debt Supercycle and How it Changes Everything John Mauldin and Jonathan Tepper Reviewed by Graham Mulligan In the introductory essay the authors sum up the problem, quoting Wimpie from the Popeye cartoon, “I will gladly repay you Tuesday for a hamburger today” and Jean Mannet, “People only accept change in necessity and see necessity only in crisis”. The debt supercycle started more than
Dead Aid; Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is A Better Way For Africa, Dambisa Moyo, 2009 Africa is going through an economic revival based on the surge in commodity prices and a more open attitude to market-based growth accompanied by more predictable (stable) political environments. Yet, Africa still seems dysfunctional, not quite getting its foot on the economic ladder. Moyo sees aid as the reason, not the
China in the 21st Century, What Everyone Needs to Know Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom, Oxford Univ. Press, 2010 Reviewed by Graham Mulligan Part 1 Historical Legacies Schools of Thought Imperial China Revolutions and Revolutionaries Part 2 The Present and the Future From Mao to Now U.S.-China Misunderstandings The Future This is a short book, 135 pages, with brief sections titled ‘Who was Confucious?’, ‘Why
China 2.0 Reviewed by Graham Mulligan Marina Yue Zhang with Bruce Stemming, Wiley, 2010 The opening chapter builds on the metaphor of ‘Internet 2.0’ as a way of understanding the new China. Just as Internet 1.0 was ‘read only’ and shifted to ‘interactive and participatory’ as Internet 2.0, so China has gone from one phase to something much more interactive. The authors develop the argument that Western
When China Rules the World; The Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the Western World Martin Jacques; Penguin Books, 2009 Summary by Graham Mulligan Martin Jacques writes from a scholarly perspective, and has a solid background that gives substance to his voice. His website description says ‘He is a visiting senior fellow at the London School of Economics, IDEAS, a centre for the study of international affairs,
The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality Richard Heinberg, New Society Publishers, 2011 Reviewed by Graham Mulligan This is a ‘living book’ updated at EndOfGrowth.com Heinberg is a Senior Fellow at the Post Carbon Institute and leading educator on Peak Oil. The book presents the reader with an economic argument, beginning with a brief review of how economies have evolved through history. The significant point here is
Post Cards From Tomorrow Square; Reports From China. James Fallows, 2009 Reviewed by Graham Mulligan Fallows is the Atlantic Monthly correspondent for China. In his introduction to the book he categorizes some of the collection of essays as ‘policy’ oriented explorations of the tremendous variety of cultural developments that so frequently lead Western observers to take positions about ‘China’ as though it were one, indivisible reality. His portraits of individuals
China in the 21st Century, What Everyone Needs to Know Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom, Oxford Univ. Press, 2010 Reviewed by Graham Mulligan Part 1 Historical Legacies Schools of Thought Imperial China Revolutions and Revolutionaries Part 2 The Present and the Future From Mao to Now U.S.-China Misunderstandings The Future This is a short book, 135 pages, with brief sections titled ‘Who was Confucious?’, ‘Why did the Qing dynasty fall?’ and ‘Is
China 2.0 Marina Yue Zhang with Bruce Stemming, Wiley, 2010 Reviewed by Graham Mulligan The opening chapter builds on the metaphor of ‘Internet 2.0’ as a way of understanding the new China. Just as Internet 1.0 was ‘read only’ and shifted to ‘interactive and participatory’ as Internet 2.0, so China has gone from one phase to something much more interactive. The authors develop the argument that Western media misrepresents China