From Publishers Weekly
In this intriguing, sometimes frustrating, survey of the interaction between ethnicity and prosperity, journalist Kotkin (coauthor of The Third Century: America's Resurgence in the Asian Era ) focuses on five groups--the Jews, British, Japanese, Chinese and Indians--to demonstrate that ethnic identity, global networks and a passion for technical knowledge foster success. Drawing on reportage as well as scholarship, Kotkin often argues his thesis persuasively--especially since the Jews, Chinese and Indians in diaspora exhibit some similar characteristics. But his designation of the British as a "tribe" is arguable, and he discounts how economic conditions, not just cultural ones, shaped mercantile capitalism. Failing to explore such important questions as the future of assimilated American Jews, Kotkin glosses over ethnic conflicts such as the Los Angeles riots. After nominating the Palestinians, Armenians and Mormons, among others, as emerging global tribes, he proposes--with little accompanying political analysis--that societies that nurture such groups "seem most likely to flourish."
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Francis Fukuyama, move over. The theory of individualism as the prime motivator in a new world system is being challenged. Kotkin, an economic reporter and coauthor of The Third Century (Crown, 1988) here offers a different paradigm for the future of the global economy, asserting that ethnic solidarity has been and will continue to be an important force in world business. Kotkin focuses on five groups: Jewish, British, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian. In trying to explain the material success of these particular "tribes," he emphasizes historical patterns common to them all: a strong ethnic identity that allows the group to undergo economic and political changes without loss of essential unity; a global network based on mutual trust and communal self-help; and an open-minded approach to the adoption of scientific and technological innovations. On this basis, he argues that potentially powerful economic groups of the future may include Palestinians and Armenians. Ethnic stereotyping is dangerous territory, and Kotkin jumps headlong into the controversial minefield. Highly recommended for all libraries. See also Lawrence Harrison's Who Prospers? How Cultural Values Shape Economic and Political Success , LJ 7/92.--Ed.
- Ruth M. Mara, U.S. Information Agency, Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"If you want to learn how ethnic networks can work to their members' advantage, Kotkin has literally written the book, and done it well'' --The Washington Post
"Tribes is essential to understanding the kind of values that really make our global economy work."--Insight
From the Trade Paperback edition.
From the Inside Flap
ve and controversial examination of business, history, and ethnicity shows how "global tribes" have shaped the world's economy in the past--and how they will dominate its future.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
