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[IP] more on As It Tries to Cut Costs, Wall Street Looks to India




From: John Pickens <jpickens@xxxxxxxxxxx>

The book "One World, Ready or Not: The Manic Logic of Global Capitalism" by William Greider has some interesting, if not controversial, perspectives on the global economy, and how we really have not escaped from the norms of human exploitation of ages past (just the identities of the players have changed). At any rate it suggests we are benefactors (victims) of macro trends that span national identities and boundaries.

Footnote: Interestingly I recall once hearing a senior (sales) manager of a low cost manufacturing opportunity say "see we use only 18 year old girls in our factory - their minds are not cluttered with the distractions of family living." This was an opportunity that claimed to manufacture at one tenth the cost of the leading competitive nation (national and corporate identities not disclosed).

The publisher's review follows (Barnes and Noble version):

Pub. Date: January 1998
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group

From the Publisher
The global economy is the leitmotif of the end of the twentieth century. Driven by the logic of modern capitalism, the global economy, a product of the Third Industrial Revolution, is a wondrous free-running system that is reordering the world as it transforms the lives and economic prospects of workers, corporations and nations. Having traveled the globe and talked to factory workers, corporate CEOs, economists and government officials, Greider contends that the global economy is sowing "creative destruction" everywhere: while making possible great accumulations of wealth, it is also reviving forms of human exploitation that characterized industry one hundred years ago and raising profound questions about the relevance of the nation-state in the face of impersonal market forces. Greider explains the dynamics of the global economy in terms of human struggle of diverse peoples and nations, rich and poor alike, facing a multiplicity of opportunities and dangers. As manufacturers in search of greater returns on investment move their assembly lines to low-wage countries, the globalization of industrial production is resulting in excess supplies of goods and labor, which, in turn, exert downward pressures on prices and wages. The deregulation of cross-border capital flows has opened new opportunities for currency traders while allowing unfettered speculation on a scale that can overwhelm the resources of even major governments. Meanwhile, the high interest rates that global investors charge to finance the growing debt of rich nations threaten the modern welfare state, with the attendant risks of class conflict and social chaos.

More reviews, including some readers who disagree with the logic of the book, can be found at:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?isbn=0684835541#REV

J
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