A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Promise of Globalization [Paperback]

John Micklethwait (Author), Adrian Wooldridge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 11, 2003

A Future Perfect is the first comprehensive examination of the most important revolution of our time—globalization—and how it will continue to change our lives. Do businesses benefit from going global? Are we creating winner-take-all societies? Will globalization seal the triumph of junk culture? What will happen to individual careers? Gathering evidence worldwide, from the shantytowns of São Paolo to the boardrooms of General Electric, from the troubled Russia-Estonia border to the booming San Fernando Valley sex industry, John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge deliver an illuminating tour of the global economy and a fascinating assessment of its potential impact.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A tremendous book.” —Newsweek

“It is not just that Micklethwait and Wooldridge . . . write gloriously. . . . The book’s substance is what really makes it stand out. . . . Judged in its entirety, with all its ambition and achievement, the book is a spectacular success.” —Foreign Affairs

“[A] compelling, witty discourse . . . To explain how globalization works, and how it came to pass, Micklethwait and Wooldridge take us on an extended world tour.”—Fast Company

“[The authors’] style is familiar to readers of The Economist: smooth, witty, erudite. . . . Their book merits an A.”—USA Today

From the Inside Flap

A Future Perfect is the first comprehensive examination of the most important revolution of our time?globalization?and how it will continue to change our lives. Do businesses benefit from going global? Are we creating winner-take-all societies? Will globalization seal the triumph of junk culture? What will happen to individual careers? Gathering evidence worldwide, from the shantytowns of São Paolo to the boardrooms of General Electric, from the troubled Russia-Estonia border to the booming San Fernando Valley sex industry, John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge deliver an illuminating tour of the global economy and a fascinating assessment of its potential impact.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (March 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812966805
• ISBN-13: 978-0812966800
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,436,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite perfect, but good, April 2, 2003

By 

R. Walker - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Promise of Globalization (Paperback)

Despite the hyperbole of the title, John Micklethwait and Adrian Woodrige strive to make this a book that does not take on of the extreme positions on globalization -- IE, neither an attack on it, like One World Ready Or Not, nor a full on, pie-eyed endorsement, like The Lexus and The Olive Tree. This is kind of a head fake, because really they are pretty much in favor of liberalizing trade as much as possible. They acknowledge potential problems, but almost always explain them away with a pro-market argument. If you're a fan of the Economist (I am) you'll enjoy the book no matter what your views on globalization, because it's written with the smarts and humor of that magazine. It's also lucidly argued, and packed with solid research and interesting anecdotes collected from every corner of the planet, even if they do cut corners from time to time when the facts aren't going their way, and are kind of cavalier about the losers in globalization. The biggest blind spot -- and of course it's easy to say this with the benefit of hindsight -- is that the shrinking of the world via increased trade etc. is much more fragile than it seemed a couple of years ago. They do acknowledge this to some extent -- there's a lot of good historical examples sprinkled in -- but the current environment feels more like one of fragmentation than oneness. (The paperback version is worth picking because the new introduction at least deals with Sept. 11.) Nevertheless, A Future Perfect is a solid introduction to a topic that is still incredibly important.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on globalization!, June 4, 2004

By 

Michael Gordon "Michael Gordon" (Los Angeles, Ca) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Promise of Globalization (Paperback)

GLOBALIZATION is a process where people, things, ideas, capital and commerce is able to freely travel anywhere in the world. As a result, the notion of comparative advantages are becoming far more frequent. More people are exposed to competition than ever before, and this has been a good thing for most people (i.e., witness the cheaper and better American cars). Globalization has been very helpful in attacking the status quo -- entrenched, pesky bureacratic public sectors unions, who take their job as a right, not a privilage; getting workers to think more about productivity, since, if they do not succeed, operations can move elsewhere.

Most important, I would say that globalization has reformed governments. As the book explains, there are still extremes on the left (Nader) and the right (Buchanan) who don't understand economics and are perfectly willing to harp on the same old course they've been on. But as this book explains, many governments are learning that they too are not immune from competition. Countries must open their borders up to foreign capital, privatize state services, come up with more flexible labor laws (i.e., France's radical law that forbids anyone from working more than 35-hours a week. However, without such a law, the average person in the U.S. works only 34 hours a week).

I am even more excited about globalization after reading this book. It's very timely, written in the familiar prose found in The Economist, and well worth the money!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Globalization not Americanization!, December 1, 2003

By 

"jump77" (Jacksonville, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Promise of Globalization (Paperback)

Micklethwait and Woolridge go through great lengths to explain globalization in terms that support an American slant to the phenomena and provide a great counterargument against the global view of Americanization. The views and examples provided enlighten the reader through real people and events that reads like a novel. The authors provide great insight about the effects and consequences of globalization on the underdeveloped and poor. They reject the myth of the evil markets and explain the real problem of subsidies, government mismanagement, and inefficiencies. They detail successful recipes and inevitable failures with discussions on education, political systems and monetary reforms. The Future Perfect should be a must read before becoming a protestor or supporter of Globalization.