Against the Dead Hand: The Uncertain Struggle for Global Capitalism

by Brink Lindsey

A refreshing, insightful look into the political and economic dynamics driving globalization today
Globalization: it's earlier than you think. That's the provocative message of Against the Dead Hand, which traces the rise and fall of the century-long dream of central planning and top-down control and its impact on globalization-revealing the extent to which the "dead hand" of the old collectivist dream still shapes the contours of today's world...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471442771
• ISBN13: 9780471442776
• Release Date: December 2001
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Most Comprehensive, Passionate Case For Free Trade Available

Of all the books on the politics of international trade, this one stands out because it offers a big picture view of how the collapse of communism changed everything. Unlike other international economists and trade scholars, Brink Lindsey begins from the premise that, because critics of open trade lost the war of ideas, it is only a matter of time before liberal civil society flourishes. His book details problems caused by lingering flawed ideas that still exist - particularly the defense of non-tariff barriers to trade - and how those problems can be overcome.Lindsey's point is that, because the global movement toward market liberalism is occurring amid the remnants of the failed economic apparatus that opposed it, its journey continues to be marked by skirmishes with proponents of the discredited system. The leaders of that system - which Lindsey calls the "Dead Hand" - are the root of much of the global poverty witnessed today because of their long-standing efforts to block the spread of reliable security for property rights and the rule of law. They prevent people in poor nations from making long-term investments and obtaining the windfall gains of congregating in economic spheres in which they hold a comparative advantage.The Dead Hand's fatal mistake was its failure to understand the concept of economic uncertainty. Its belief that a small set of central planners could bring together all of the information necessary to make sound decisions to govern people's lives stifled the creative process throughout much of the less-developed world. People victimized by the notion that their leaders should run their society are now rejecting that system. As Lindsey states, "Hostility to markets remains, and remains formidable, but only as a force of reaction."He bases his argument on the fact that open trade produces sustained, long run economic growth. The success of Richard Cobden and John Bright's Anti-Corn Law League in securing free trade in staple food products in nineteenth century Great Britain was the world's first step toward building an international economic framework that enables poor people to obtain the products they need. Cobden and Bright's vision took hold over the last few decades as trade barriers for goods, services, and capital began to fall around the globe. Over time, a larger and larger share of domestic economic activity was exposed to foreign competition, creating net benefits for consumers in every nation involved. The evolution of legal institutions in many nations facilitated the development of markets in which the costs of finding trading partners, setting the terms of trade, and enforcing agreements were reduced. This increased productivity in most sectors of these nations and raised living standards.Lindsey believes that, historically, leaders who rejected the benefits free trade offers tended to resort to warfare to obtain wealth. Politicians who actively stifle the development of new products and innovations cannot sta

The Real Deal on Globalization

The popular perception of globalization portrays political leaders fighting against corporations and unfettered financial markets being manipulated by greedy speculators using lightening fast electrified capital. According to Brink Lindsey, author of "Against the Dead Hand - The Uncertain Struggle for Global Capitalism", this formulation has the main direction of causation backwards. The failures of central planning have led governments groping for market reforms as a pragmatic response to the failures of big government.The trend toward what we now refer to as "globalization" was interrupted during the nineteenth century by what the author calls the "Industrial Counterrevolution". World leaders, impressed by the productivity and efficiency of big business, began to apply the same techniques as those used in business. Merged with these techniques were different theories of collectivism which arose as a result of the apparent chaos of the marketplace.Though the U.S. never plunged headlong into state control, political leaders of both parties were swept up by its own version of the Industrial Counterrevolution, the Progressive movement.We now have over a century of experimentation in various social and economic policies in several countries. The evidence shows free market principles produce better results, but market proponents should not confuse a change in trend with victory in the battle of ideas. Those general principles - competition, choice, limited government, private property, sound currency, free trade - are now seeping deeper into more areas of society that had been impervious to them. The change could be seen in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. recently when the Court took up the constitutionality of school vouchers. On one side were minority parents demanding educational choice who were pitted against public school teachers protecting the status quo.Educational choice is one reminder that market proponents do not have a free ride. Laments Lindsey: "The defunct ideas of centralized control exert a waning but still-formidable influence on the shape of the world economy... The invisible hand of markets may be on the rise, but the dead hand of the old collectivist dream still exerts a powerful influence."A belief in market economics is not simply the hope for the absence of government. Among government's most important responsibilities is maintenance of a legal order that protects property and enforces contracts to exchange that property.Mr. Lindsey's entry is an easy reading but serious antidote to the double dose of hype from pro-globalization cheerleaders and anti-globalization protesters. I recommend it.

superb historical perspective

just the kind of book i like--one that gives me an enormous wealth of historical information while explaining, in very readable terms, the economic forces that were and are in conflict with one another. my only criticism is that the book does not take social and psychological factors into enough account in describing the reasons for the various economic decisions. perhaps this excellent book should not take on such a role, but the reader ought to be cognizant of the other, non-economic reasons that play a major role in moving world leaders towards their economic policies. nevertheless, i strongly and highly recommend this superb book.

A Realistic Look at Globalization

This is a terrific book. So much of what has been written about globalization so far has been either dry or full of hyperbole (both for and against it). "Against the Dead Hand" explains the world as it really is in a way that was a pleasure to read. The book combines history, first-person reporting, and clear analysis. Lindsey begins by telling the story of the first round of globalization that ended with World War I. In many important ways the world was more globalized a hundred years ago than it is even today, but the whole system fell apart in the face of anti-market ideologies and rising nationalism. The warning I took from this section is that there is nothing inevitable about globalization today. It can all fall apart again, plunging us back into the same kind of political and economic darkness that plagued the world for decades after 1914. Lindsey explains convincingly that globalization has returned not because of some grand vision of free-market thinkers but because socilaism proved to be such a failure. He points out that some of the great "reformers" in recent years have been communists and socialists themselves. The most important contribution of the book, in my view, is to remind us of how far we still are from a world were free markets and free trade predominate. The "dead hand" of the old collectivist systems still dominates economic life in most countries. Countries such as Argentina are still struggling against runaway government spending and corrupt legal and political systems. In one of my favorite passages, Lindsey describes a visit he made to a village in India where the villagers were assembling their own cars from kits. Import duties and regulations make it cheaper in India to build your own car! If you want to understand what is going on in the world today, why some nations are making progress and why others seem to stumble from one crisis to the next, "Against the Dead Hand" provides compelling answers. This book is realistic but in the end hopeful that we are headed to a better place. I highly recommend it!

An unflinching look at globalization

Books on "globalization" are common these days, but most don't contribute much to one's understanding of the overall phenomenon. Critics present laundry lists of problems that still exist in the world and then fault globalization either for causing them or for not solving them, ignoring the obvious gains achieved in recent decades. Proponents tell us where globalization is changing life for the better, but often fail to deal with the uneven nature of progress in the world. Why do some places flourish and some falter? Few books offer a complete and convincing picture of what globalization is, where it comes from, and what its limitations are. Against the Dead Hand does all of those things, and in an extremely readable format. It weaves history, economics, and politics together with interesting first-hand reporting from several of the world's economic quagmires. A thoughtful analysis that's suitable for both layman and academic alike.One of this book's great virtues is its broad sense of historical perspective. Lindsey describes the current trend of globalization not simply as an affirmative triumph of market ideology, but as an outgrowth of the collapse of the great collectivist ideologies of the past century: communism, fascism, and even FDR-style managed capitalism. In other words, free markets advanced primarily because the state receded -- not because political leaders had converted to some capitalist orthodoxy.Yet the collapse of state economic controls was far from total. Even though faith in central planning and top-down economic control has waned in recent years, the "dead hand" of the collectivist past -- the "accumulated institutions, mindsets, and vested interests of state-dominated economic development" -- still exerts a powerful influence on world affairs. Burdened as it is by the dead hand of the state, Lindsey shows how globalization is neither as widespread as its critics claim nor as firmly entrenched as its champions believe.The book concludes with a discussion of the events of 9/11 that draws connections between the current terrorist threat and the broader themes explored in the book. Specifically, Lindsey explores the ideological camaraderie evidenced by the more radical elements of the anti-globalization movement -- remnants of what he terms the "Industrial Counterrevolution" -- and the anti-modernist thought embodied in radical Islam. He convincingly argues that while many of globalization's critics sell themselves as friends of the poor, they are in fact enemies of prosperity. Feeling insecure and left behind by the modern world, they seek to stop it -- a goal they must not be allowed to achieve.Whether you're a fan of free markets or not, this book is worth your time. It's not a sugar-coated view of globalization, nor does it reject the critical role that governments have to play as the world grows closer together. It is, rather, an unflinchingly clear description of where we've been on the road to modernity and the perils