- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Abacus (3 Oct 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 034911644X
- ISBN-13: 978-0349116440
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.2 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
694,915 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #22 in Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Social Issues > Globalisation
- See Complete Table of Contents
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
|
There is a newer edition of this item:
|
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Philip Legrain's ambitiously titled Open World: The Truth about Globalisation adds a new dimension to the debate on globalisation: a new defender of the benefits of the global village. Having worked for both the World Trade Organisation and The Economist, Legrain's credentials seem impeccable, and he quickly launches into an impassioned defence of the benefits of economic globalisation, enthusiastically attacking Naomi Klein's No Logo, arguing that "the beauty of globalisation is that it can free people from the tyranny of geography" in offering new possibilities for international and global cooperation and cultural intermingling.
Legrain rejects the anti-globalisation argument that governments are losing control to multinational companies, and that branding is taking over our lives, offering a powerful critique of the recent TRIPS agreement. He is also good on the extent to which "many of the worries about globalisation echo age-old fears about decline". In arguing for a much more interventionist model for the future of globalisation, Legrain follows the work of Anthony Giddens and Will Hutton, but he lacks scope and authority of their economic and political analysis to really add anything new to their radical democratic positions. His cultural analysis is so weak that he repeatedly idealises the new possibilities that globalisation provides; the claim that "we increasingly define ourselves rather than let others define us" is true for a privileged, but impossible to sustain for millions of people in the developing world. Open World still has one eye closed to the downside of globalisation. --Jerry Brotton
Review
Every year, the travelling circus of anti-globalisation protest moves to more cities, the scenes as familiar to us through our television screens as the weather forecast: people of all nationalities gathering to express their concerns about the way big business is increasingly taking over their lives. The pictures could be coming from anywhere - Genoa, London, Seattle - yet the message is the same. Gradually, the subtext filters through to our daily lives that the seemingly unstoppable force that is globalisation is something sinister, a movement run by faceless men and women who dictate that shoes will be made in Vietnam, corn grown in the USA, and that local cultures will disappear, subsumed into NikeWorld and McDonald's golden arches. Should we believe the protesters? Or can globalisation be a force for good? Philippe Legrain sets out his stall at the beginning of the book with the revelation that he was previously special adviser to the director-general of the World Trade Organisation. Yet his previous experience as a journalist writing for publications such as The Economist, The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times means that he is able to take a slightly less partisan view than one might expect. Legrain is able to present his arguments in surprising ways. Given the traditional association between globalisation and unfettered industrialisation at any cost to the environment, it is interesting to read that 'there may be a strong case for slapping trade sanctions on the US... [if they fail to listen to pressure from other countries to ratify Kyoto].' Legrain also points out that many advocates of globalisation are as horrified by the failure of the drugs companies to allow cheap, non-patent drugs to be supplied to developing countries as those who gather on the anti-globalisation demonstrations. His description of a visit to two shoe factories in Vietnam, one owned by a multinational, the other by a local business, also made salutary reading. This is an essential read for anyone on either side of one of the most pressing debates of our time. (Kirkus UK)
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Beijing, 12 July 2001. Fireworks light up the skies. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Beijing, 12 July 2001. Fireworks light up the skies. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Challenge your prejudices,
By Rehman Najeeb (Britain) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Open World: The Truth About Globalisation (Paperback)
It is very easy to be cynical and go along with the doom-mongers who say that globalisation only has negative consequences. Mr Legrain makes a compelling case that the reality is much more complicated. Insyead of falling into the usual media hype - inspired by protest groups and authors like Naomi Klein - that globalisation is de facto a bad thing Philippe presents a more insightful and deeper analysis which suggests the argument is not nearly so clear cut. Read this book to have your prejudices challenged.
14 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Wasted opportunity,
By
This review is from: Open World: The Truth About Globalisation (Paperback)
Firstly, Philippe Legrain is to be applauded for taking on the challenge posited by countless texts from Klein, Hertz et al and trying to redress the balance of thought in this area. Not least since this is likely to raise a few hackles. However, in trying to tackle a full sweep of the issues raised by globalisation (economic, political, social and cultural) he produces a very basic and weak analysis of the subject.Whilst he raises interesting issues (e.g. the real extent of US cultural impact globally), on a macro level, the book contains none of the thoughtfulness or insightfulness of analyses by commentators such as Hutton, Chomsky or Friedman and reads rather like a university thesis, rooted in traditional theories of economics rather than realpolitik. Surprisingly, for example, in this sort of book, there is no real discussion of US economic and political hegemony which is pretty remiss to say the least. On a micro level, there is a plethora of texts on each each of subjects he raises ranging from the popular (Eric Schlosser, Fran Abrams) to the academic (e.g. on global standards for human rights) which provide much more thorough, detailed and on-the-ground analysis and which often contradict Legrain's theories. There are many, many examples of this through the book, but to pick one at random, in his review of whether major corporations are in a position to take unfair advantage of their size (whether financial, environmentally or vis-a-vis consumers and employees) one of his four mitigating items is that these companies have to comply with many government regulations and therefore are prevented from doing so. To support this, he notes that "the Federal Register, which lists US government regulations is 70,000 pages long"... and that's it for your analysis. No consideration as to the extent of compliance, what constitutes compliance, whether companies can successfully breach regulations etc. This is a crucial failing of book given that if the majority of theories and principles are not necessarily applied or adhered to properly in practice, then his analysis of the actual impact of globalisation is seriously flawed. In short, buy this book if you want a quick snapshot of alternative thinking to traditional globalisation but do not buy it for any thoughtful analysis of the subject.
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The book that changed my view of globalisation,
This review is from: Open World: The Truth About Globalisation (Paperback)
Open World offers a persuasive case for globalisation and a clear and brutal dissection of the arguments put forward by the anti-globalisation movement. Philippe Legrain explains how globalisation can and does benefits all parts of society across the world and explodes the myth of the global economy as a club for the rich to exploit the poor. I warmly recommend this book to anyone who has been bemused by an often highly emotive debate. Legrain cuts through the nonsense to show how freer trade benefits us all. Future generations will see the anti-globalisation movement in the same way that we regard those who, in the past, firmly believed the world was flat. Legrain is no Aristotle, but, like Christopher Columbus, he takes his readers on a journey which proves the doom-sayers wrong.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
