The Challenge of Global Capitalism [Hardcover]

Robert Gilpin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 22, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0691049351 | ISBN-13: 978-0691049359

Many individuals proclaim that global capitalism is here to stay. Unfettered markets, they argue, now drive the world, and all countires must adjust, no matter how painful this must be for some. Robert Gilpin urges us, however, not to take an open and intergrated global economy for granted. Rather, we must consider the political that have enabled global markets to function and the probablity that these conditions will continue. This work is an enquiry into all major aspects of the contemporary world political economy. Beginning with the 1989 end of the Cold War and the subsquent collapse of Communism, it focuses on globalization and rapid technological change and covers a broad sweep of economic developments and political cultures. Gilpin demonstrates the fragility of a global and integrated economy and recommends what can be done to strengthen it.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Capitalism is the most successful wealth-creating economic system the world has ever known," declares Robert Gilpin. Yet it has skeptics. "Individual nations and powerful groups within nations that believe the world economy functions unfairly and to their disadvantage, or who wish to change the system to benefit themselves to the detriment of others, are an ever-present threat to the stability of the system." The task, then, is to ensure its survival through wise leadership that provides fair rules governing trade, investment, and currency. At a time when the economies of the world appear more linked than ever, and the tug of even further internationalization feels irresistible, Gilpin says nothing is inevitable. The whole system must rest on secure political foundations--foundations that Gilpin argues have weakened since the end of the cold war. "Growing concern over economic globalization and increased competition have intensified the movement toward economic regionalism and the appeal of protectionism," he writes. The Challenge of Global Capitalism was actually completed before the World Trade Organization's disastrous 1999 meeting in Seattle; after watching the protests unfold there, even the most Pollyannaish observers must admit that Gilpin warns of a real threat. His book will appeal mainly to economists, but serious nonspecialists will also find its sober prose accessible. --John J. Miller

From Booklist

The demonstrations accompanying the meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle last fall show that global capitalism indeed faces many big challenges. Although Gilpin proclaims the merits of globalization, his analysis is scholarly and dispassionate. He warns that the international capitalist system requires a "strong and wise" leadership to promote international cooperation and establish and enforce rules regulating international trade, investment, and monetary affairs. He also emphasizes the need for that leadership to "ensure at least minimal safeguards for the inevitable losers from market forces and from the process of creative destruction." Gilpin is a professor emeritus at Princeton and the author of The Political Economy of International Relations (1987). His focus now is also political as he looks at how the international economy has been shaped by the cold war and affected by European and Asian regionalism and by the collapse of the Soviet Union. David Rouse

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (February 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691049351
• ISBN-13: 978-0691049359
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,062,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't fear Globalization, just fix it., April 26, 2000

By 

Johnny Lovewisdom, Jr. (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Challenge of Global Capitalism (Hardcover)

In The Challenge of Global Capitalism Robert Gilpin asserts: "The Achilles heel of the post-Cold War world order is the poor public understanding of economic liberalism, of the functioning of the market system, and of how capitalism creates wealth." That heel was showing in Seattle during the WTO meetings last November and again April 16-17 in Washington when in-your-face, "Globalize-This!" protestors tried to block IMF and World Bank meetings. The protestors would serve themselves and their causes well by reading Gilpin's book, which explains how the global economy has developed over the last half-century to reach the current stage of globalization, defined by Gilpin as "the increasing linkage of national economies through trade, financial flows, and foreign direct investment by multinational firms." Globalization holds great potential for good and presents serious challenges. The principal challenge, according to Gilpin, is to find ways to fortify the international financial system against future threats to global economic stability like those caused by the East Asian economic crisis and resulting global economic turmoil of the late 1990s. Although economists and Western governments are not in agreement on all the specific measures to adopt to prevent international financial crises in the age of globalization, most do expect the IMF to play a necessary, constructive role in behalf of international financial stability.

Gilpin educates about globalization, but not as an apologist. Rather, he is quick to point out globalization's faults and to call for corrective measures. Gilpin insists "the fears arising from globalization must be addressed and must not be rejected out of hand." In the United States this means "solutions must be devised for the problems of growing income inequality, the plight of low-skilled workers, and job insecurity. Reforms should include strengthened safety nets, greatly expanded job training, and a new social contract between capital and labor."

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars reasonable overview for graduate students, May 3, 2000

By 

Willem Noe "scorpio-1" (Berlin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Challenge of Global Capitalism (Hardcover)

Prof. Gilpin has an excellent reputation in the field of IPE, International Political Economy, and I bought this book on that recommendation.

It gives a good overview of major developments in the globalization and globalization debate in the 90s, with political economy analysis and lots of references to economic analysis. I would recommend it for graduate students, but I must say i was a bit disappointed, not much new or inspirational there. I could read the book very quickly without ever really having to stop and think. Here i think it is only fair to reveal my own background, which is in international economic relations and history of EU integration. Some of his points on the nature and development of the European Union and the economics are frankly quite contestable, especially on the openness or closedness of the EU. The debate on 'Fortress Europe' is really out of date by now ever since it became clear that the Single European Act of 1987 and the '1992' project were not about closing the EU economy, quite the contrary. Do I detect an US bias here?

Yes, as prof. Gilpin points out, economists indeed disagree on many key issues. But you will find that strife also within IPE and political science and in any other social science discipline. So? It reflects the complexity of the issues rather than weakness of the discipline, i'd argue (but then, I would would I, as an economist...) A number of problems in globalization and the international financial system are presented as (relatively) new, but I'd argue that more often than not these problems were always there in history. Also, the point that regionalization threatens globalization is too strong as put there, and not necessarily correct and so clear-cut at all: many regional economic agreements were made in the course of the Uruguay Round trade negotiations at GATT/WTO out of frustration with the slow pace of negotiations and as a 'back-up' plan in case of UR failure. Hardly a threat to globalization which, in any case, throughout history never really progressed smoothly at all.

All that said, the book does do a solid job of pointing out some of the main issues and discussions and it will do well as a topical reference book.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good start for a basic understanding, May 22, 2000

By 

Scott Siegel - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Challenge of Global Capitalism (Hardcover)

This is a higly readable and extensive survey of the major IPE issues facing Americans and the rest of the world today. It successfully analyzes and challenges the economists' arguments about the primacy of economics, or even economic theory, over politics or political science. This is an excellent book for someone just beginning to educate themselves about the nature and state of the international economy. It's significantly broad, but also does an excellent job of explaining complex phenomena. However, I have a few caveats. First, it moves too quickly and soflty over the larger issues, specifically, whether globalization has been helpful or harmful to the world polity. I agree with a previous review that it overestimates the threat of EU protectionism. In fact, he overestimates the threat of protectionism entirely. The greatest threat to, or promise against, globalization is the rise of social protest movements across the globe, being channeled in new ways not seen before. Therefore, I would urge most people to read this book, but then pick up either a contrarian book, like Grieder's One World: Ready or Not, or Globalization by Sasskia Sassen. Avoid Friedman's The Lexus and the Olive Tree at all costs.