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Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism
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| Part No: | 1596915986 |
| Manufacturer: | Bloomsbury Press |
| MFG Part: | |
| Customer Rating: | 4.5 / 5.0 |
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- ISBN13: 9781596915985
- Condition: New
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
“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.”—Noam Chomsky Using irreverent wit, an engagingly personal style, and a battery of examples, Chang blasts holes in the “World I s Flat” orthodoxy of T homas Friedman and other liberal economists who argue that only unfettered capitalism and wide-open international trade can lift struggling nations out of poverty. On the contrary, Chang shows, today’s economic superpowers—from the U .S. to Britain to his native Korea—all attained prosperity by shameless protectionism and government intervention in industry. We have conveniently forgotten this fact, telling ourselves a fairy tale about the magic of free trade and—via our proxies such as the World Bank, I nternational Monetary Fund, and World T rade Organization—ramming policies that suit ourselves down the throat of the developing world. Ha-Joon Chang has taught at the Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge, since 1990. He has consulted for numerous international organizations, including the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. He has published eleven books, including Kicking Away the Ladder, winner of the 2003 Myrdal Prize. In 2005, Chang was awarded the Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. One economist has called Ha-Joon Chang “the most exciting thinker our profession has turned out in the past fifteen years.” With Bad Samaritans, this scholar takes on the debate on globalization and economic justice. Using irreverent wit, an engagingly personal style, and a battery of examples, Chang challenges the “World Is Flat” orthodoxy of Thomas Friedman and other liberal economists who argue that only unfettered capitalism and wide-open international trade can lift struggling nations out of poverty. On the contrary, Chang reminds us, today’s economic superpowers—from the U.S. to Britain to his native Korea—all attained prosperity by shameless protectionism and government intervention in industry. Via proxies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organization, we have pushed policies that suit ourselves on to countries in the developing world. Unlike economists who construct models of how the marketplace should work, Chang examines the past: what has actually happened. His contrarian history demolishes one pillar after another of free-market mythology. According to Chang, we treat patents and copyrights as sacrosanct—but developed our own industries by studiously copying others’ technologies. We insist that centrally planned economies stifle growth—but many developing countries had higher GDP growth before they were pressured into deregulating their economies. Both justice and common sense, Chang argues, demand that we reevaluate the policies we force on nations that are struggling to follow in our footsteps. "A well-researched and readable case against free-trade orthodoxy."—Business Week "A well-researched and readable case against free-trade orthodoxy."—Business Week
"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 globalization. I strongly urge you to read it."—Larry Elliott, economics editor, The Guardian (UK)
"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 smart, lively, and provocative book that offers us compelling new ways of looking at globalization."—Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics, 2001
"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 (UK)
"Chang (Univ. of Cambridge) has written a witty, interesting reply to go-go globalization books. Anyone who believes the myth that today's wealthy nations got that way through neoliberal free trade policies (and that this is the only road for developing countries today) will be entertained and informed by the 'secret history' of protectionism. The book is provoked by Thomas Friedman (The Lexus and the Olive Tree, 1999, and The World Is Flat, CH, Mar'06, 43-4141), informed by Friedrich List, and driven by a deep understanding of the real history of economic development in Asia and elsewhere. This reviewer found the chapter on corruption especially sharp, although there is much to appreciate throughout . . . Too bad there was such a long gestation period between the debates that provoked the book and its eventual appearance . . . Recommended [for] general readers and undergraduate students."—M. Veseth, University of Puget Sound, Choice magazine
| Egghead Economic Recipe | 2010-07-22 | 2 / 5 |
| | This book could only have been written by an egghead academic insulated from the utopian solutions he prescribes. While the author does offer some valid criticisms of neoliberal capitalism, many of the arguments and logic he presents are full of holes. This is pie-in-the-sky UN economic institute material, hopefully never to be taken seriously by political leaders of the developed world. |
| Bit heavy handed | 2010-06-22 | 4 / 5 |
| The process of exchange, the naurally induced human desire to trade with others and a trait not possessed by any other species on earth, is at the threashold of
the transactional system that evolved into capitalism. Without such imperative the world would nevr have progressed. Trade is a conerstone for the development of civilization and like any other human driver it is fought with problems. It mjght have been valuable if the author had noted that capitalism, a form of basic human exchange, is a model for wealth accumulation and not for equal distribution of its product. There is no real secret as the commercializtion of the world, today's modern globalization, has come with both good and bad. A bit more balance as to the pros and cons along with a more in depth and wider historic examination of the emrging process in antiquity ould have made for a better book. But on the otherhand the presentation of the author's arguments are well researched and presented even if they are based on some limited and biased present world economic events. In the end we live in a borderless integrated world that requires some new direction and the term curently applied, globalization, needs to atke into account taht the process is a contiuing one with adjustment and change still coming. A good book that needs to be read alongside others on the core subject to get a well rounded insight. |
| A Much Need Antidote | 2010-06-06 | 5 / 5 |
| I am honestly surprised by how good the reviews this book has received on here. I was expecting a torrent of one star reviews by right wingers and libertarians. I am pleasantly shocked.
This book is much needed and should be read in every high school economics class. The stories by bourgeois economists of the mystical "free market" and the magical powers of "free trade" are fed to Americans like they are self-evident truths. I know, because I used to be one. The one big problem facing the free market religion is reality.
Reality is much more dynamic than the simplistic "I give you an orange, you give me an apple, we both benefit" spiel of right wing economics. Ha-Joon Chang has shown this simply and clearly in this book. Anyone can pick up this book and understand what is in it. It is a most valuable book.
Also, Ha-Joon Chang goes into great depths detailing the practical criminal nature of the WTO, the IMF, various trade agreements and the destructive enforcement of intellectual property rights.
This book is clear, concise, doens't mince words, well documented and well written. It will change minds. A 5 star if ever needed. |
| should have been an article | 2010-05-09 | 3 / 5 |
| Would have made an excellent Atlantic article - not enough for a book. It is good that Chang challenges the conventional wisdom of the Washington consensus on free-trade. As an Economist reader I'm happy to my assumptions challenged. The best chapters are routed in history - not argument. I very much enjoyed hearing a first-hand account of the risk of South Korea, from one of the world's poorest countries to one of the wealthiest - and the policies that allowed this transformation. This story is particularly interesting to me as my in-laws are Korean immigrants. But Chang does not have enough new to say for a whole book, and ends up repeating himself and his argument far too often.
Grade: B- |
| Chang's BAD SAMARITANS | 2010-04-23 | 5 / 5 |
| | Just finished a careful re-read of BAD SAMARITANS with seminar students in an undergraduate course on "Globalization History." Dr. Chang, Cambridge University and an intelligent economist born and raised in South Korea, builds a convincing case against current "neo-liberal" (his term) orthodoxy that guides economic policies aimed at poor countries by the IMF, World Bank, WTO and other organizations. Chang demonstrates why and how pervasive ignorance of history (by economists) has led policy-makers to unwittingly advocate damaging "free-market" policies on developing countries worldwide. I consider Chang a brave pragmatist, not an ideologue. He emphasizes the key role of technological progress through an "infant industry" argument that is surprisingly sophisticated. A favorite expression of a non-academic friend is that "common sense is uncommon." If I were in charge of economic development in a poor country, I would solicit advice from Ha-Joon Chang, a common-sense pragmatist with impressive knowledge of the comparative and simultaneous histories of today's rich and poor countries. |
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