The New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos (Hardcover)

~ Ravi Batra (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After nearly 20 years of predicting economic disaster, Batra (Greenspan's Fraud, etc.) suggests a reversal, though only after we rise up in revolution against the forces of chaos. This time, he charges politicians, academics, business executives and rich people with "corruption," defined as "any policy that enriches the rich and impoverishes the poor and the middle class." Among the practices Batra censures are raising congressional pay but not the minimum wage, and cutting income taxes while increasing Social Security taxes. Though the analysis is keen and provocative and the conclusions unorthodox as ever, his specific economic predictions aren't likely to be any better than those in his 11 previous books. Though he admits that "three or four" of his previous predictions "have been wrong," and "the cycle of depression has misfired," he gives no specifics. His examples of successful predictions sidestep his previous books, citing anecdotes from unrecorded private conversations. Some readers might wish Batra would stick to analysis and exposition, at which he excels, and leave off the name-calling and the wild predictions that mar this effort. (Feb.)
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Review

"The analysis is keen and provocative, and the conclusions unorthodox as ever."--Publishers Weekly "Dr. Batra vividly portrays the way in which public disgust for corruption, both corporate and federal, is becoming a serious force for political change."--Dr. W. Curtiss Priest, Director, Center for Information, Technology, & Society, MIT
Praise for Greenspan's Fraud:
"The most thoroughgoing assault on the Maestro's legacy so far."--Cecil Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"As always, his economic arguments are expressed elegantly."--Publishers Weekly
"In this chilling exposé of one of the most powerful men of our time, Ravi Batra reveals Greenspan for who he secretly is: An ideologue who has waged war on the American Dream and imperiled the world economy."--David Callahan, author of The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead

Praise for Ravi Batra:

"When it comes to the bottom line so beloved of economists, one can learn a lot about events by thinking about them in cyclical regularities, of which Batra gives a novel and brilliant exposition."--Lester C. Thurow
"Ravi Batra has made an outstanding reputation in the United States as an international economic theorist in the best Western tradition."--Leonard Silk, New York Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (January 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403975795
• ISBN-13: 978-1403975799
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #109,338 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stays on message - still the most potent critic of Capitalism , June 16, 2007

By	Economist - See all my reviews

Ravi Batra is still at it, almost three decades since he penned the classic "The Downfall of Capitalism and Communism: A New Study of History". We have come a long way with this author since then and never been bored. Batra's thesis is that we have entered the era of financial capitalism, the last stage of the Age of Acquisitors, where an increasingly uneven distribution of wealth feeds into increasing financial leverage and speculation, until the system can't handle it anymore and collapses. Following the collapse is financial destitution of many and social chaos. Such an outcome is still the most potent form of criticism of Capitalism. If Batra is at some point proved right that
a) the Great Depression of the 1930s was no fluke and
b) that innovations and safeguards to our financial system adopted since then cannot prevent another meltdown,
then that is a major an indictment of our form of social organization and, ultimately, our way of life.

At the heart of Batra's writings are the ideas of his mentor P.R. Sarkar. Batra has done more than anyone to publicize the message of this giant of modern day Indian thought in the West. This book is yet another installation into that body of work. While the message may no longer be as novel or fresh as it was in the 1980s, his work now builds on three decades of experience, including a multitude of accurate predictions (although the most important one has so far been a spectacular failure - the Great Depression of 1990!). He is now more circumspect about such things, including the adoption of a fiat monetary system in the 1970s and how monetary policy has been successfully used to forestall a major crash. In one sense he is quite correct, our monetary and financial system is an ongoing social experiment. Batra's work is, if anything, a reminder that we take a lot of things for granted. It is healthy to consider the alternatives, such as if the systemic stability were to give way to catastrophe. Central banks all over the world now devote considerable resources into researching this question and government surveillance of the financial market is now commonplace with stock markets all over the world soaring. Interestingly, all of that, albeit important, is not really the key focus of his work. As the name of his new book suggests, it is the glorious new dawn of a world based on the sentient philosophy of his mentor that is his main message.

Time will tell if Batra and the ideas he promotes are the real deal. So far, he has yet to prove the worth of these ideas with his major prediction. However, he has offered many novel insights into how modern capitalism works. For instance, in the 1980s he was one of the first to talk about how the financial sector was becoming the key to social developments in the West. Today, we take such insights for granted. Overall, the ideas he is describing are more than worthy of our careful consideration. Let us also not forget that he made a prediction in the book mentioned above in 1978 that Communism would fall. It did. As is the norm for him, the book is exceedingly well written and the message as fascinating as ever. Batra tends to be a few steps ahead of the rest of us, even if it sometimes looks as if he going down the wrong path. Even if he has made a big misstep, in my opinion, he is still headed in the right direction. The ideas are serious and profound and also filled with hope. The book is highly recommended for the intellectually curious or those scoping about for a more meaningful approach to life than what the real world has on offer in the early 21th century.

53 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Call to Arms!!!, March 24, 2007

By	J. Brady "bubblemaniac" (seattle, wa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In this book, Batra expains how the economic chaos and political corruption will continue to escalate and worsen over the next few years until the working class eventually rise up like warriors against the acquisitor class (capitalist - Russ Winter calls them the "pigmen") who have infiltrated all aspects of our government, the press, and our society at large. This uprising will dawn a new golden era of prosperity for the masses and the working class. A move away from "trickle down" economics where indebtedness of the masses for the fortitude of the richest has resulted in an increasingly unstable bubble-led economy with resultant record trade imbalances that leaves us (as a nation and society) in a precarious and vulnerable situation.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos, August 8, 2007

By	Ancient Engineer - See all my reviews

An exceptional economics book that tells the truth directly and in simple and completely understandable terms. Scuttles the Media and Political hype and presents what is needful and workable toward economic democracy that is now being submerged be the Global "Free Market" lies, myths and swindles.
Should be required reading for every truly patriotic citizen.