The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy

By Dani Rodrik

Book Overview

From the mercantile monopolies of seventeenth-century empires to the modern-day authority of the WTO, IMF, and World Bank, the nations of the world have struggled to effectively harness globalization's promise. The economic narratives that underpinned these eras--the gold standard, the Bretton Woods regime, the "Washington Consensus"--brought great success and great failure. In this eloquent challenge to the reigning wisdom on globalization, Dani Rodrik offers a new narrative, one that embraces an ineluctable tension: we cannot simultaneously pursue democracy, national self-determination, and economic globalization. When the social arrangements of democracies inevitably clash with the international demands of globalization, national priorities should take precedence. Combining history with insight, humor with good-natured critique, Rodrik's case for a customizable globalization supported by a light frame of international rules shows the way to a balanced prosperity as we confront today's global challenges in trade, finance, and labor markets.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393071618
• ISBN13: 9780393071610
• Release Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Norton & Company, Incorporated, W. W.
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 2.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.6" x 1.3" x 6.5"