Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism Paperback – December 23, 2008

Starred Review. In the 1950s, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world, suffering the aftereffects of decades of brutal Japanese colonialism and war with its northern counterpart. During his childhood, Chang (Kicking Away the Ladder), a respected economist at the University of Cambridge, witnessed the beginnings of Korea's postwar economic miracle as Gen. Park Chung-Hee's dictatorship (despite its corrupt machinations) set the economic groundwork that would lift Korea out of poverty. Though Korea's strategies are heretical to first world, free-market economists, Chang argues that the world's wealthiest nations historically relied on the same heavy-handed protectionist approaches in their quests for economic hegemony. These wealthy, first world economies, which preach free market and free trade to the poor countries in order to capture larger shares of the latter's markets and to pre-empt the emergence of possible competitors are Chang's bad Samaritans. Chang builds his outsider stance through a history of capitalism and globalization and stories of other struggling countries' economic transformations. The resulting polemic about the shortcomings of neoliberal economic theory's belief in unlimited free-market competition and its effect on the developing world is provocative and may hold the key to similar miracles for some of the world's most troubled economies. (Jan.)
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"A smart, lively, and provocative book that offers us compelling new ways of looking at globalization." --Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics, 2001

"I recommend this book to people who have any interest in these issues--i.e. everyone." --Bob Geldof

"Every orthodoxy needs effective critics. Ha-Joon Chang is probably the world's most effective critic of globalization. He does not deny the benefits to developing countries of integration into the world economy. But he draws on the lessons of history to argue that they must be allowed to integrate on their own terms."--Martin Wolf, "Financial Times," author of "Why Globalization Works

""This is a marvelous book. Well researched, panoramic in its scope and beautifully written, "Bad Samaritans" is the perfect riposte to devotees of a one-size-fits-all model of growth and globalisation. I strongly urge you to read it."--Larry Elliott, economics editor, the "Guardian"
"Lucid, deeply informed, and enlivened with striking illustrations, this penetrating study could be entitled "economics in the real world." Chang reveals the yawning gap between standard doctrines concerning economic development and what really has taken place from the origins of the industrial revolution until today. His incisive analysis shows how, and why, prescriptions based on reigning doctrines have caused severe harm, particularly to the most vulnerable and defenseless, and are likely to continue to do so. He goes on to provide sensible and constructive proposals, solidly based on economic theory and historical evidence, as to how the global economy could be redesigned to proceed on a far more humane and civilized course. And his warningsof what might happen if corrective action is not taken are grim and apt."- Noam Chomsky


"the best riposte from the critics that I have seen...Readers who are leery of open-market orthodoxy will rejoice at the cogency of Bad Samaritans. Ha-Joon Chang has the credentials -- he's on the economics faculty at Cambridge University -- and the storytelling skill to make a well-informed, engaging case against the dogma propagated by globalization's cheerleaders. Believers in free trade will find that the book forces them to recalibrate and maybe even backpedal a bit....Chang's book deserves a wide readership for illuminating the need for humility about the virtues of private markets and free trade, especially in the developing world."--Paul Blustein, "Washington"" Post"
"a lively addition to the protectionist side of the debate...well written and far more serious than most anti-globalization gibberish.""-- New York Sun"
"A smart, lively, and provocative book that offers us compelling new ways of looking at globalization." --Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics, 2001 "I recommend this book to people who have any interest in these issues--i.e. everyone." --Bob Geldof

"Every orthodoxy needs effective critics. Ha-Joon Chang is probably the world's most effective critic of globalization. He does not deny the benefits to developing countries of integration into the world economy. But he draws on the lessons of history to argue that they must be allowed to integrate on their own terms."--Martin Wolf, "Financial Times," author of "Why Globalization Works

""This is a marvelous book. Well researched, panoramic in its scope and beautifully written, "Bad Samaritans" is the perfect riposte to devotees of a one-size-fits-all model of growth and globalisation. Istrongly urge you to read it."--Larry Elliott, economics editor, the "Guardian"
"Lucid, deeply informed, and enlivened with striking illustrations, this penetrating study could be entitled "economics in the real world." Chang reveals the yawning gap between standard doctrines concerning economic development and what really has taken place from the origins of the industrial revolution until today. His incisive analysis shows how, and why, prescriptions based on reigning doctrines have caused severe harm, particularly to the most vulnerable and defenseless, and are likely to continue to do so. He goes on to provide sensible and constructive proposals, solidly based on economic theory and historical evidence, as to how the global economy could be redesigned to proceed on a far more humane and civilized course. And his warnings of what might happen if corrective action is not taken are grim and apt."- Noam Chomsky


"A well-researched and readable case against free-trade orthodoxy.""--Business Week"
"the best riposte from the critics that I have seen...Readers who are leery of open-market orthodoxy will rejoice at the cogency of Bad Samaritans. Ha-Joon Chang has the credentials -- he's on the economics faculty at Cambridge University -- and the storytelling skill to make a well-informed, engaging case against the dogma propagated by globalization's cheerleaders. Believers in free trade will find that the book forces them to recalibrate and maybe even backpedal a bit....Chang's book deserves a wide readership for illuminating the need for humility about the virtues of private markets and free trade, especially in the developing world."--Paul Blustein, "Washington"" Post"
"a lively addition to the protectionist side of the debate...well written and far more serious than most anti-globalization gibberish.""-- New York Sun"
"A smart, lively, and provocative book that offers us compelling new ways of looking at globalization." --Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics, 2001 "I recommend this book to people who have any interest in these issues--i.e. everyone." --Bob Geldof

"Every orthodoxy needs effective critics. Ha-Joon Chang is probably the world's most effective critic of globalization. He does not deny the benefits to developing countries of integration into the world economy. But he draws on the lessons of history to argue that they must be allowed to integrate on their own terms."--Martin Wolf, "Financial Times," author of "Why Globalization Works

""This is a marvelous book. Well researched, panoramic in its scope and beautifully written, "Bad Samaritans" is theperfect riposte to devotees of a one-size-fits-all model of growth and globalisation. I strongly urge you to read it."--Larry Elliott, economics editor, the "Guardian"
"Lucid, deeply informed, and enlivened with striking illustrations, this penetrating study could be entitled "economics in the real world." Chang reveals the yawning gap between standard doctrines concerning economic development and what really has taken place from the origins of the industrial revolution until today. His incisive analysis shows how, and why, prescriptions based on reigning doctrines have caused severe harm, particularly to the most vulnerable and defenseless, and are likely to continue to do so. He goes on to provide sensible and constructive proposals, solidly based on economic theory and historical evidence, as to how the global economy could be redesigned to proceed on a far more humane and civilized course. And his warnings of what might happen if corrective action is not taken are grim and apt."- Noam Chomsky