The Future of Capitalism: How Today's Economic Forces Shape Tomorrow's World (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: brainpower industries, economic plates, capitalistic game, United States, World War, Dark Ages (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Professor Thurow once again demonstrates his insights into the global economy and a genius for pithy explanation in this masterful analysis of how the falling of Communism is leading, as inexorably as Continental Drift, to a new form of Capitalism. He identifies the challenges -- and opportunities -- in the shape-shifting of the world economy. His analyses of the rise of the capital of brainpower over traditional physical capital will be of especial interest to Internet users such as yourself. But the entire book is essential reading to anyone interested in our socioeconomic future. Highly recommended!

From Publishers Weekly

In a farsighted, magisterial report, influential Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Thurow brilliantly gauges the perils for U.S. capitalism in the emerging global economy. He warns that massive investments in skills and education are crucial if we are to cope with new technologies and with the shift to "brainpower industries" (communications, computers, etc.). Yet U.S. corporations, instead of integrating their skilled work forces into their organizations, are doing precisely the opposite and downsizing, observes Thurow with alarm. In place of a payroll tax, he proposes a progressive, value-added consumption tax to pay for pensions and health-care benefits for the elderly. In a multipolar world with no single dominant power, much of the U.S. military machine is essentially unusable and irrelevant, Thurow argues, and he envisions America playing an active but reduced role on the world stage. Appalled at our ever-lower personal-savings rate and staggering, still growing trade deficits, he predicts that the world's financial markets will soon clamp down on the U.S., with cataclysmic impact on Japan and on Third World development. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 385 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company; 1 edition (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688129692
• ISBN-13: 978-0688129699
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,664,328 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Insightful, December 28, 1999

By	John Bonitz "john_bonitz" (DC, USA) - See all my reviews

Lester Thurow's "Future of Capitalism" is a VERY interesting book on globalization, and it is SO much more insightful than that silly "Lexus and Olive Tree." It does a great job of explaining the history and roles of the international / supranational organizations like WTO, World Bank, etc. Thurow is a highly respected liberal economist and he has a way of describing the "third industrial revolution" in a way that even old school economists can understand: It ain't about controlling or allocating resources anymore -- it's all about brainpower.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Packed With Knowledge!, May 5, 2004

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Future of Capitalism: How Today's Economic Forces Shape Tomorrow's World (Paperback)

This is a particularly important book for two types of people to read: those who believe economic instability and inequality will lead capitalism to implode (they're wrong); and those who believe the economic engine of capitalism is running just fine, especially in the United States, and simply needs to be left alone by meddling do-gooders, thank you (they are wrong too). Neither view is realistic. Lester C. Thurow is quite well suited to explain why. He is practically a brand name on national television, known for making more sense of the economy than anyone could possibly expect from a dean at MIT. Although Thurow wrote this book in 1996, the trade deficit, the skewed distribution of revenue and the disparity between rich and poor continue to demonstrate the validity of his conclusion that fewer and fewer can get more and more for only so long. We highly recommend his insightful analysis, wishing only that Thurow proposed deeper solutions for the problems he so ably diagnosed.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a lucid explanation of the forces shaping world ecomomies, October 8, 1997

By	[e-mail] (australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Future of Capitalism: How Today's Economic Forces Shape Tomorrow's World (Paperback)

It's rare to find a book which is so insightful. As people and politicians around the world are reeling and reacting to the dramatic economic changes happening around them, Thurow is the scholarly observer who explains to us so clearly why these changes are taking place. The author deepens our understanding of events by providing the historical context and presents us with our future dilemnas and challenges. Such as the widening gap between rich and poor. This book will be a light and demystifier to your economic world view. As far as economics go, this book is straight talk, captivating and excellent.