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Product Description
From the Nobel Prize-winning author of Globalization and Its Discontents comes a corruscating analysis of the boom and bust of the 1990s - how and why it happened, how the seeds of destruction were sown in the midst of apparent prosperity, and how America and the world are still failing to learn the lessons from what went wrong.
The Roaring Nineties is in part the story of how the corrupt and greedy got their comeuppance. But Stiglitz also develops a convinving alternative to the free-market mantra. He shows why greed is not good and how if left unchecked it leads to deceptions, distortions and disasters. He argues that achieving the right balance between government and the market is the best way towards sustained growth and efficiency, and that both companies and economies must to some extent be regulated by trust and consideration for others. This isn't just good morality - it's good economics too.
IN THE ROARING NINETIES, growth soared to levels not seen in a generation. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Nationally, the state of the union is far from brilliant with its huge wealth inequality, a large number of people in prison, anxiety and insecurity (millions without health insurance), high infant mortality rates, unconcern about the deterioration of the environment and health care provisions below those of far poorer countries.
In the ‘roaring nineties’, Stiglitz sees the fundamentalist free market ideology of the Bush II governments as a façade for a political agenda: crony capitalism (Enron, Worldcom), downsizing of government, favouring the wealthy. Overwhelming private interests and corporate greed lead to misguided and biased deregulation, bad tax policies, misguided accounting policies, too little investment in vital public needs, education, infrastructure and basic research. Tax cuts were hypocritically sold as good for everyone (trickle-down economy), while the result was frugality for the poor and generosity for the well-off.
Internationally, the US speaks of the rule of law, but it rejects this rule time and again (UN, International Criminal Court, Kyoto Agreements, strategic arms treaty).
Dr. Sam delivered misguided economic prescriptions to the rest of the world via the US controlled IMF. Its free trade rhetoric conceals the fact that the US lives year after year beyond its means, while it lectures others not to do it. In fact, the poor countries are subsidizing the richest: the total value of the benefits that the US gets out of the current system exceeds by a considerable amount the total foreign aid the US provides.
Stiglitz own precepts, called ‘Democratic Idealism’, are based on 3 cornerstones: social justice, political values (democracy and freedom) and the relationship between individuals and communities. It is a vision with a balanced role for government (investments in education and technology, social protection), an attempt to achieve social justice at local and global level, and based on individual and national responsibility.
This book is superbly sarcastic: the conglomerate discount instead of the conglomerate premium (the synergies didn’t work out). Or, the 3 Golden Rules of corporate capitalism: first, oppose subsidies except for your own sector; secondly, favour competition except for your own business; thirdly, favour openness and transparency except for your own books.
With his superb free mind, Professor Stiglitz’s book served perfectly his adage that ‘information is more important than ever’: a well-informed public is the basis of a well-functioning democracy.
A must read.
I also highly recommend Walden Bello’s ‘Dilemmas of Domination’ (a voice from the South) and Robert Heilbroner’s ‘Behind the Veil of Economics ‘.
In particular, his critique of how President Bush mis-managed the aftermath is sharp and to the point. Readers interested in
this book should also take a look at Paul Krugman's "The Great Unraveling" for more political commentary and Maggie Mahar's "Bull! A History of the Boom" for a colorful, fast-paced narrative of Washington and Wall Street in the 90s.
My only criticism was that given Stiglitz's power and influence during the 90s (he was chief economist at the World Bank and and before that Chairman of Clinton's Council of Economic Advisors) he seems to avoid any of the blame for mistakes that were made.
Some of the points made are not exactly new, Enron, the madness of the hype surrounding the New Economy. But Stiglitz writes well and overall the book is well worth a look.
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