The Ideas that Conquered the World: Peace, Democracy, and Free Markets in the Twenty-first Century (Hardcover)

~ Michael Mandelbaum (Author) "FOR A BRIEF MOMENT in the winter of 1018-10, Woodrow Wilson, the twenty-eighth American president, bestrode the world like a colossus..." (more)
Key Phrases: common security order, ern core, nonproliferation system, Cold War, United States, Soviet Union (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mandelbaum, foreign policy professor at Johns Hopkins and a Newsday columnist, brings extensive experience in policy analysis to this examination of the political and economic ideas he believes will dominate the post-Cold War era. He expounds upon and assesses what he calls the Liberal Theory of History. Liberalism, as the author defines it, harkens back to three ideas synthesized by Woodrow Wilson at the end of WWI. First is the primacy of free markets as the world's indispensable economic engine. Second is the recognition of democracy, with its constitutional limits on government power, as the most advantageous political system. Third is an instinct for peaceful relations among nations, marked by transparency in armaments and by common security arrangements; peace has replaced war as the normal state of international affairs. These ideas, Mandelbaum asserts, are "mutually reinforcing" and have triumphed within the past 60 years over the illiberal and brutal systems of fascism and communism, continually gaining adherents. To that extent, Mandelbaum concludes, there is a basis for hope for the 21st century. Still, as he acknowledges, there are dangerous countercurrents loose in the world, and numerous flash points, such as Taiwan (the most dangerous place on earth, according to the author) and the dragon's lair of the Middle East. Policy enthusiasts will read Mandelbaum's astute and exceptionally well-written analysis with great interest and may even share his cautious optimism about liberalism's prospects.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A formidable and thought-provoking tour d'horizon. Best of all, it gives readers something to argue about." -- New York Times Book Review, September 22, 2002

"A thoughtful and powerful...analysis of the triumphant and ongoing impact of the ideas of peace, democracy and free markets." -- Richard Reeves, Universal Press Syndicate, September 4, 2002

"An important and compelling new book." -- Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times, September 15, 2002.

"If you are trying to put the events of Sept. 11 in some overall historical context...I recommend Mandelbaum's new book." -- James Klurfeld, Newsday, September 5, 2002.

"Mandelbaum captures with considerable scholarship and clarity the general underpinnings of current international relations and the possibilities for the future." -- The Weekly Standard, October 21, 2002

"The strength of this volume is in Mandelbaum's analysis of the diplomatic and economic sinews that hold together today's world..." -- David Shribman, Chicago Tribune, October 6, 2002

"This is a timely and relevant analysis. Mandelbaum speaks powerfully and insightfully to our vexing and manifold challenges." -- Charlotte Observer, November 11, 2002

"Truly fascinating...It is well worth reading." -- Judith Regan, Judith Regan Show, September 28, 2002.

"an excellent historical understanding of the evolution of the Western liberal ideas of free trade, democracy, and peace." -- Parameters, Summer 2003.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; New edition edition (September 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586481347
• ISBN-13: 978-1586481346
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #892,641 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Hegemony of Ideas?, September 7, 2003

By	T. Johnson (Northern Virginia USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Despite its subtitle, the author's focus is on explaining 19th & 20th century world history. Tutoring without condescension, he explains fundamentals of historical interpretation, and how democracy, free markets, and peace emerged as unchallenged principles for governance and international relations following the end of the cold war. The legacy of the Cold War is the historical demonstration of the failure of communism, in any incarnation, to deliver what people generally expect governments to deliver - peace, order, and material well-being. A whirlwind world tour examines the status of the implementation and acceptance of these ideas in various regions, and the risks remaining. Despite the verdict of history, there are holdouts - notably China and the mid-East - and resistance to full implementation. The biggest risk to world peace is found in China, where the potential for war over the status of Taiwan is unmitigated by China's participation in the global economy. But the author also worries over the possibility of failure in the "core region" of the world, for example rejection of free trade for protective tariffs & quotas for domestic political reasons could send the world back to the conflicted & warlike condition driven by defeated ideas.

Disappointment - the author dismisses the Islamic challenge to the Western world because they offer no viable alternative. Rule by religious elites not chosen democratically - including a cluster of values such as dispute resolution thru trial by combat on a national scale, economic policy reduced to trading for short-term profit without long-term investment - these ideas appeal not because they reject the West and its ideology. The indigenous peoples of the Islamic world believe that ideals of personal submission to God's will, governmental enforcement of His laws, and restoration of the cultural dominance of these values transcend and triumph over ideas put forth in this book. China may fight a war for rational, if poorly thought-out reasons. But the dragons' lair of Middle East politics has sucked us into wars for causes that can only be understood outside the author's framework. Thus the author's historical treatise falls far short. Peace, democracy, and free markets are rooted in Judeo-Christian values. Why did they fail in the 7th and 8th centuries, and what will prevent a recurrence in the 21st? Without this analysis the story is incomplete. The author's conclusion that these ideas have achieved hegemonic status rings empty.

28 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, thought-provoking book, January 27, 2003

By A Customer

If you, like me, have become a follower of the thoughts of Thomas Friedman, you'll love this book, too. Its clear, entertaining detail of "liberal" history---and in this context, even Newt Gingrich was a liberal---and the triumph of the ideas of Woodrow Wilson is a great read. I credit Friedmen with awakening interest in foreign policy analysis, but I credit people like Mandelbaum, Friedman and Walter Russell Mead for providing foreign policy analysis that is passionate and engaging, rather than what I expected, which was dry and over-informative.

My only criticism of the book was the first third was a little repetitive. He kept repeating the part about the triumph of Wilson's ideas, but I started to say, "Hey, I GET IT already."

Anyway, that shouldn't scare anyone off. If you are interested in this type of reading, I would highly recommend reading this one.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bold, and Brilliant, September 13, 2003

By A Customer

It is rare these days to find a book on world affairs that has an original and provocative thesis and that is also a pleasure to read. Mandelbaum has written just such a volume. His purpose is nothing less than to identify the main forces--markets and democracy--shaping the contemporary world, and he does so by moving effortlessly from the overall claim to real-world examples and back again. The lines of the forest are always in view but there are plenty of trees, and the main argument is made with compelling clarity, conviction, and the occasional bit of humor. Despite Mandelbaum's crystal clear prose, it's apparent that some reviewers (see below) fail to grasp his main points. Fundamentalist Islam as an alternative to liberal democratic capitalism? Just where exactly have people, when given the opportunity to freely elect their leaders, chosen a Taliban-like model? And what have such regimes, when they have grabbed power, brought people except poverty and brutality? As for the absence of capitalism in the Judeo-Christian world in the 7th and 8th centuries (!), one need not have read Karl Polanyi's "Great Transformation" to understand that many complex changes had to unfold before national markets arose; any regular history book should suffice. Modern democracy, too, could not have taken root over a thousand years ago for precisely the same reason. Mandelbaum is not saying that all you need for markets and democracy is the Judeo-Christian ethic; he identifies it as being AMONG the critical factors that promoted their growth. Alas, even the most lucid writer is fated to have his ideas misunderstood. Buy the book; it's terrific.