George Soros on Globalization (Hardcover)

by George Soros (Author) "Globalization is an overused term that can be given a wide variety of meanings..." (more)
Key Phrases: global open society, geopolitical realism, nongovernmental channels, United States, World Bank, World War (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Financial mastermind Soros (The Alchemy of Finance, etc.) has made his mark as a philanthropist with a progressive foreign policy, fostering open societies. He equates globalization with "the free movement of capital and the increasing domination of national economies by global financial markets and multinational corporations." In this treatise, he explains how his vision to "make global capitalism more stable and equitable" acknowledges that antiglobalization protesters have a case against the mainstream consensus that the market works well. Instead of dismantling existing international financial and trade institutions, though, Soros suggests reform. Market fundamentalists, he says, are unwilling to modify existing institutions to create a level playing field; moreover, they're loath to create institutions to foster social goals like reducing poverty. Protestors, he observes, are "strangely blind" to the need to improve the quality of government and public life in poorer countries. Soros's suggested method provides aid that will "enable, encourage, and reinforce" voluntary compliance with international standards relating to environment, education and labor. His proposal? The richer countries in the IMF issue Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) for international assistance i.e., international reserve assets a process that shares the burden equitably, with the United States paying its fair share. A board of "eminent persons" chooses who's eligible for assistance, and a separate audit commission evaluates those chosen. After September 11, Soros notes in conclusion, Americans must recognize the world's precarious interdependence. Soros has an admirable track record and the virtue of hindsight (his foundations have done innovative work and his take on what could have been done in Russia over the past decade is compelling). This dry but vital book deserves attention and debate.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Renowned international investor and financial guru Soros outlines the problems of globalization, limiting its meaning here to "the free movement of capital and the increasing domination of national economies by global financial markets and multinational corporations." Thus, Soros does not delve into the social or cultural applications of globalization. Criticism instead is leveled on both the "market fundamentalists"--Reagan-Thatcher types who seek to remove all impediments (taxation and regulation) to international investing--and the antiglobalization activists, who see the phenomenon as immoral. An admitted fan of globalization, Soros contends that the market is amoral but that certain reforms are necessary to ensure ethical standards. Soros' conclusion is that international institutions have not kept pace with the international economy, and a true "open society" (the title of Soros' last book) relies on that progress. A follow-up is in the offing, as the author is anxious to further expand on his open-society idea. Though the subject matter is complicated, Soros' simplified treatment makes this a timely and necessary title for any basic economy collection. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; 1st edition (March 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586481258
• ISBN-13: 978-1586481254
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #818,759 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Critic From Within the System, December 22, 2002

By	"krchicago" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

I bought this book because I wanted to learn something about the globalization debate and try to understand why it has gotten some people stirred up enought to riot in Seattle and stage mass protests elsewhere. I had at least heard of the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO before all this got started, but (like probably 98% of Americans) I had no real idea of what they do or how they do it. I didn't want to start out by reading either an economist (since as a general rule they seem to be excruciatingly poor writers) or one of the radical reformers (ditto). George Soros seemed like the perfect solution -- a successful player in the international financial markets, who has directed a significant chunk of his wealth to international philanthropic efforts. In other words, someone who has seen the problems from the inside and is working to remedy them (even though he has a stake in the current system). Soros' conviction in France last week for insider trading probably hurts his personal credibility, but doesn't affect the validity of his arguments about our international institutions and the US's role in the world.

"George Soros on Globalization" is a short book (about 180 pages, with *lots* of blank space), which is both its chief virtue and a significant limitation. It's a fast read and gave me a good overview of the problems with our global financial and trade arrangements (what these markets can and cannot do, the role the US has played and should play in the allocation of private and public goods), and a basic understanding of some possible solutions. Brevity also translates to very little explanation, however (I still don't really know what the World Bank and the IMF do), and very little development of Soros' thoughts on possible solutions. For example, Soros suggests that strengthening the ILO (rather than weakening the WTO) is the way to address global labor issues, but it's hard to imagine this happening and before I would consider this a practical solution I'd want to know more about how this would work and whether it's really feasible.

The "centerpiece" of Soros' book is his proposal for a reformed method of providing foreign aid through Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). Unfortunately, if you don't know anything about currency reserves and how they affect the economies of developing countries (and I don't), a lot of this discussion will be over your head. I had to take on faith quite a few bald statements about how SDRs would work and how they will benefit developing nations. And I had some questions about the parts that were easier to follow. For example, Soros proposes an independent board of professionally qualified experts who will identify projects that are eligible for donor financing. He emphasizes the importance of this board being professional, expert and free of national ties -- but he makes no suggestion as to how this laudable but probably unrealistic goal is to be achieved.

Soros' concluding chapter is essentially a plea for the US to develop a broader understanding of its global interests -- that we are strongest and safest when we promote a more equitable distribution of public goods (such as health, education and the rule of law) and take a more multi-lateral leadership role in the reduction of poverty worldwide. I happen to agree with Soros here, but I doubt that this chapter will persuade anyone who is not already inclined to accept Soros' conclusions.

Despite the defects noted, I would recommend this book to anyone who is wondering what the fuss over globalization is all about. If you read nothing else, this will at least give you an overview of the issues. Soros' writing style tends to the oracular pronouncement (there are lots of one or two sentence paragraphs -- as if the book grew out of a series of bullet points that he couldn't be troubled to turn into real paragraphs), which can be annoying, but it does get you through the material quickly. Overall, a stimulating read.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The problems and players are defined, but the solution?, March 30, 2002

By	therosen "therosen" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This book is an interesting take on the problems inherent in globalization. (Think the Argentinean default)

Soros has distinct credentials to write on the subject:
1 - He's made quite a bit of money (Billions) off of currency speculation.
2 - He has financed numerous foundations attempting to resolve the problems described.

The book makes for interesting reading to the non-economist, in that it explains the WTO, World Back, IMF and other international organizations supporting global development. It defends their success against their missions, while highlighting the deficiencies. Soros admits the complexity of the problem, and proposes several solutions.

There were two major weak spots in the book:
1 - His concept of Special Drawing Rights could use more explanation. Identical descriptions occur 3 times, but none are accessible to the lay reader.
2 - He makes blanket accusations against "market fundamentalism" without defining it, or explaining why it continues to be the dominant view.

Bottom line: If you're looking for a high level explanation of the issues with globalization and the key international organizations involved, this is the book for you. If you're looking for clear resolutions, this may prove elusive.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At least he is honest and clear in his view: let's debate, March 18, 2003

By	David Keirsey (Carlsbad, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

George Soros is generally an articulate, thoughtful, and sincere person who puts his money where his mouth is. He never hides his political agenda as other economic pundits do. In this short book he opens the debate on what directions should be taken in the international community to tackle some of the perceived defects of the global financial system. He takes the current US government to task for being unilateral, whether that's a fair criticism or not is debatable; nevertheless, he is sincere in trying to find solutions that might be better for everybody concerned, including the US.

The book is very much an opinion piece: its like an extended op ed, so don't expect a tutorial or clear explanation of how globalization has done or how it works. In his previous books he has more about his life, experience, and insights into the financial world, and these books are more interesting reads. In reality, this book more of a political treatise with a economic focus, which you may or may not agree with. But he sincerely puts forth a concrete proposal to use the WTO and IMF in an effective manner to create his vision of open societies, a laudable goal, which no doubt will be ignored. He is interested in debate, but its too bad he is not publically accessable, like all rich and famous (I tried and failed), since he needs to be informed of some scientific analogies similar to his concept of reflective processes and that might help him come up with a more realistic proposal (that might work). Moreover, he would understand why his seemly practical proposal is too idealistic, even for a hard-nosed capitalist with significant experience in international finance. Although he cites talking to numerous people on this proposal (a quite impressive list), apparently none of them understand enough science and history to help; this is not surprising since the mainstream (typically established, rich and/or famous) can never see or solve tomorrow's problems. Too bad: he is smart enough, logical enough, and interested in tackling problems that nobody else sees in the almost correct light (open societies) as he does.