Book Description

In the blink of an eye, vast economic forces have created new types of communities and reinvented old ones.In The New Geography, acclaimed forecaster Joel Kotkin decodes the changes, and provides the first clear road map for where Americans will live and work in the decades to come, and why.He examines the new role of cities in America and takes us into the new American neighborhood.The New Geography is a brilliant and indispensable guidebook to a fundamentally new landscape. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Could sprawl be dying?
A thoughtful analysis of technology's impact on society with some ideas that are worth acting upon.

While the premise of this book is not new, Kotkin's thoughtful analysis of how technology has and is changing our geography puts this book securely in the "must read" category.

Kotkin's premise is that technology is changing America's landscape as much or more than did the Industrial Revolution. While, in some respects, technology has de-personalized our society (and there are many tangible examples; the malling and sprawling of America with "category killer" retail and soulless master planned communities), it has also emerged as a great unifier causing people to seek more connection, not less. Moreover, technology has enabled more choices, particularly on where one chooses to live and work. Consequently, the notion of "place" is more important than in the past and consumers of place are more demanding and sophisticated.

What all this means is that we are seeing a very positive evolution back to "Renaissance" type cites (populated by artisans, small business and niche players enabled with technology) where place and commerce are wed. Conversely, we are also experiencing the segregation of the "haves" of technology and subsequent wealth from the "have-nots". Further segregation, Kotkin argues, will erode the very positives that are emerging.

Kotkin takes pains to organize his argument and does so by citing both historical markers (i.e.-Fall of Rome, the Dark Ages and The Enlightenment/Renaissance) with geographical categories that describe our emerging urban landscape (ie-Valhallas, Nerdistans, Urban Cores and Midopolis).

My one complaint is that Kotkin didn't give enough airtime to the issues around how the segregation of the classes will potentially erode the more positive impacts of technology. This subject emerges only toward the end of the book with poignant comparisons to the Fall of Rome.

While some of the rosy "Internet Era" optimism (copyright 2000) is evident here, the gist of the message remains completely valid. This is an excellent book. This "New Geography" is worth thinking about and acting upon. Kotkin's last two lines are illustrative; "As people and advanced industries hunt the globe for locations, they will not necessarily seek out those places that are the biggest, the cheapest, or the most well favored by location. Instead they will seek out a new kind of geography, one that appeals to their sense of values and their hearts, and it is there that the successful communities of the digital age will be found." Do you live in one of these communities or not? Bravo!

Good book but heavy with PC stuff
Interesting and good book but he keeps telling us how wonderful immigrants are and how they revitalize cities. He mentions orientals and the businesses they start over and over but never about the Mexicans that are so much more common, with large families paying relatively little in taxes but putting a tremendous burden on local governments which in turn tax more and drive taxpayers to less "diverse" jurisdictions. Just look at California, the state with the largest portion of its population foreign born. Its a financial basket case. And New York can show you two smoking holes in the ground where mighty towers once stood. I wonder what Kotkin thinks about these immigrants' contribution to the new geography?

Fine book, but a little euphemistic
This is an even-handed, non-cheerleading account of how people are moving to different locations in America based on their "skill level" (by which I think Joel primarily means IQ): e.g., Nerds are moving to Nerdistans like Silicon Valley and Research Triangle, while Rich Nerds are moving to Valhallas like Aspen. Lots of good insights, although his celebrations of how immigrants are reviving cities kept me wondering how who caused them to die out. Reading Joel is kind of like talking to some wealthy liberal who has just bought a house in an all-white suburb but can't quite ever mention the name of the people who he's trying to get away from.

The new economy + new urbanism = new geography
You've heard it said that location is everything. City planning, urban geography, explanations of agricultural patterns, and the theory of industrial location all owe their existence to German geographers who were the pioneers of location theory; men such as von Thunen, Weber and Christaller. Edward Ullman introduced the concept of central-place theory to the US before WWII. The idea then has a long history of explaining the way things are.

All that will come to an end if it's up to Joel Kotkin. He sees the new economy with its emphasis on communication and technology as permanently seperating us from our dependance on place. This isn't revolutionary, or even a new idea. The belief that technology is more important than any physical space or location has long been the mantra of the netheads of the new economy. What else are we doing but proving the reality of this when we submit and read reviews at Amazon, and participate in a community that only exists in cyberspace?

Where THE NEW GEOGRAPHY truly breaks new ground is in the argument that the information economy has two "faces". These involve different processes and business that are beneficial to the "self-contained high-end suburds" or "nerdistans" but also, and very importantly, other elements have "taken on a decidedly more urban cast." It's a fairly good book that will be enjoyable to those with interests in geography, urbanism, and technology; it's therefore broad enough but unfortunately not deep enough to really satisfy all.

Should have been a magazine article
When "New Geography" hit the stands, it made it for few weeks on the LA Times bestseller list, and Joel Kotkin made the rounds on the local public radio stations. He is well spoken, and his interviews where engaging, but his book doesn't hold muster. Don't get me wrong - he has an interesting thesis, but it could have been well articulated in the length of an Atlantic Monthly sized magazine article. Instead, he gives the reader filler, and rehashes what other contemporary authors have been saying about demographic trends, urban lifestyles, decaying midwestern cities, and internet workers. He also wrote this book at the crest of the internet bubble, and like most new computer technologies, it has became outdated a year's time since the bust.

Also, one final thought...

This book was written with the assumption that programers, netheads, and digital artists exist in sufficient numbers to change which cities in America live and die. It's as if this country were populated by David Brooks and his "laptop at Starbucks so they can sip their lattes hot 'Bobo's.'" Has Kotkin ever been to Palmdale??

Skim this book, but don't forget to pick out the thesis. It says that cities, towns, and suburbs that make themselves livable by yuppie standards will flourish in this new internet driven economy whose companies and workers can live and work where they want because new technology allows them to be geographically unconstrained by "old" economy resources like shipping ports, raw materials, etc. ... Read more

Book Description

In The New Masters of Capital, Timothy J. Sinclair examines a key aspect of the global economy—the rating agencies. In the global economy, trust is formalized in the daily operations of such firms as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, which continuously monitor the financial health of bond-issuers ranging from private corporations to local and national governments. Their judgments affect unimaginably large sums, approximately $30 trillion in outstanding debt issues, according to a recent Moody’s estimate. The difference between an AA and a BB rating may cost millions of dollars in interest payments or determine if a corporation or government can even issue bonds

Without bond rating agencies, there would be no standard means to compare risks in the global economy, and international investment would be problematic. Most observers assume that the agencies are neutral and scientific, and that they interpret their role in narrowly economic terms. But these agencies, by their nature, wield extraordinary power and exert massive influence over public policy. Sinclair offers a highly accessible account of these institutions, their origins, and the rating processes they use to judge creditworthiness. Illustrated with a wide range of cases, this book offers a fresh assessment of the role of an often-overlooked institution in the dynamics of modern global capitalism. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The chief problem societies have faced "since the time of the Babylonians," writes Dinesh D'Souza, has been the problem of scarcity. "But now that age has passed, and America has a new problem: coping with prosperity." It's a good problem to have, but also a serious, even debilitating, one. "The moral conundrum of success," the author continues, means that all too often, "the body is flourishing, but somehow the soul still feels malnourished." D'Souza is well known for his bestselling conservative books Illiberal Education, The End of Racism, and Ronald Reagan. On these pages, however, he seems to set politics aside to ask deep questions about the meaning of life in a world of material abundance:

What is my life for? As affluence spreads ... hundreds of millions of people will be asking just this question. That they can ask it is in and of itself a great moral achievement, because it opens up to innumerable ordinary people the avenues of human fulfillment that were previously open only to aristocrats. Yet at the same time it is a strangely disquieting question, because there is no complete answer to it within the modern techno-capitalist framework.

Reviews (23)

Simply incredible
I am absolutely amazed at the breadth of D'Souza's knowledge. This is my first Dinesh book and it certainly won't be the last.

After reading that he was a policy analyst for Ronald Reagan and was a member of both the American Enterprise Institute and the Hoover Institution, I expected the book to make a much firmer stance on the issues. I am pleasantly surprised at the respect that D'Souza gives to all arguments. He really considers every viewpoint before moving on.

The topic at hand I would summarize down to "the ethics and morality of capitalism and technological progress." What I found was a very intellectual (for a grass-roots type of book) work that bounced between technophile and technophobe viewpoints, liberal and conservative viewpoints, and touched upon a huge diversity of subjects such as philosophy, sociology, psychology, politics, and biology, among others. By the way, I minored in Philosophy, and D'Souza seems to have a firmer grasp of philosophical concepts than I ever had! D'Souza has a deft touch that makes his book at once highly readable, intellectually stimulating, and thought provoking.

Second Thoughts About the New Economy
Dinesh D'Souza has written a very significant book in which he endeavors to find the deep, true meaning behind the euphoria, the hype, the madness that is the new economy. After a sober and methodical reassesment of the profound changes left behind in the wake of our recent prosperity, D'Souza ultimately comes down on the side of the optimists, the Party of Yeah he calls them, who embrace transformational technologies even as critics (whom he dubs the Party of Nah) charge that they threaten to uproot the old bonds of community, replacing spiritual values with purely materialist passions.

D'Souza is scrupulously balanced in forthrightly presenting both sides of the argument. The arguments themselves aren't new; the rigor with which D'Souza analyzes them quite possibly is. Does technological capitalism ultimately degrade the soul? We have all heard the liberal economic critique of the gap between the rich and poor. How does the emerging conservative critique of the social consequences of inequality stack up in comparison? D'Souza discusses these questions briskly and adroitly. Often while reading the book, I would find myself thinking of possible counter-arguments to the views presented on any given page and invariably found them echoed a turn or two of the page later.

More than most defenders of the marketplace, D'Souza does take very seriously the notion that the new prosperity may hinder our search for spiritual meaning. The case for either sides of this often demagogued controversy is clouded by the fact that one's economic good fortunes don't seem to guarantee either frustration or inner fulfillment. For every white collar criminal, there is a young man who is moved to depravity by hunger or poverty. For every example of a person with modest means contented with the simple life, there seems to be an equal abundance of millionaires who find fulfillment and happiness in their enterprise and in the educational advancement that prosperity makes possible. Perhaps this means that techno-capitalism really has less spiritual consequence (for good or ill) than we think and at best it offers unique people an outlet for their interests, much like art, science and politics. These are the kinds of questions you will find explored in this refreshing work.

D'Souza concludes his work with a life-affirming statement of the dignity of human nature as a rebuttal and a caution against those who would take technology too far in the quest for pursuits such as cloning, genetic engineering or even merging the human race with computers. Part of the beauty of techno-capitalism is that it allows for the satisfaction of human wants and desires in a decentralized environment that replicates natural processes. Naturally self-regulating, self-perpetuating price mechanisms that nobody fully understands (much less controls) have much less to do with the marketplace than command-and-control decisionmaking. Effectively, capitalism is the triumph of human nature over centralization and control. Technology is the product of pure human nature and its perpetual quest for improvement. Does the new emphasis on biotechnology, the rhetoric of "overcoming" human nature with vastly advanced, highly evolved computers, and the impetus to control nature through genetic manipulation violate the principles that have brought us such success and the Party of Yeah such satisfaction? At the very least, it is something both optimists and pessimists must think through before taking the next bold leap into the future.

A Great Read
Dinesh did it again with this piece of literary genius! Well maybe it isn't genius, but it is informative and entertaining.

In "The Virture of Prosperity" D'Souza makes an argument for capitalism based around the compassion that affluence had brought to this country. This book should counter every anti-globalization textbook in the classroom in order to provide a fair and balanced view of our supper-affluent society.

Relatively short, easy to read, and full of stats and figures to amaze your friends with, this book would make a great paper-back to pick up asap!

The only shortcoming would be that it was written before 9/11 so some of the flowery imagery of our future seem a tad bittersweet.

Capitalism Vindicated
Business people rank among the biggest victims of unfair criticism. Blamed for greed, exploitation and selfishness, business people generally fail to defend themselves or assert their positive status. Instead, they continue holding the country together through productive activity that generates tax revenues and high standards of living.

Thanks to a book by Dinesh D'Souza, they have a well-articulated defense of their status that extends beyond moneymaking. As D'Souza points out in The Virtue of Prosperity-Finding Values in an Age of Techno-Affluence (The Free Press, 2000, $26), business is about more than earning dollars. It is about realizing dreams through sacrifice, work, vision and an ability to satisfy society's needs. The pursuit of business not only is an economic endeavor but a noble endeavor, D'Souza believes.

An enthusiastic free market advocate who immigrated from India and was graduated from Dartmouth College, D'Souza focuses his attention on the boom of the high tech industry, which turned many ordinary people into millionaires almost overnight. The growth of capitalism, he notes, has led to unprecedented general prosperity.

An annual survey of freshmen conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA and reported by Alex P. Kellogg in the Jan. 26 Chronicle of Higher Education reveals that nearly three quarters of first-year college students say they want to be very well off. Only 28.1 percent report an interest in keeping current with political affairs.

D'Souza acknowledges that capitalism unleashes vast social and economic changes that alienate people and create an intensive need for spiritual fulfillment. He realizes that for many people, capitalism will not solve a search for meaning.

Also, social hierarchies are an inevitable outcome of the scramble for success in capitalist societies. However, these inequalities are not arbitrary accidents of birth. "The rich are today the hardest working people in society, and they refuse to...work less or stop working, even if they can easily afford to."

The ability to turn an area of enthusiastic interest and energetic resolve into prosperity for oneself and others drives the successful business person and also explains the hostility to the capitalist by those who look behind a haze of envy for not receiving the same rewards.

Despite economic gaps between rich and poor, one does not find instability or conflict as in other cultures because "technological capitalism is a powerful catalyst of enduring equality among citizens," he says. Indeed, higher standards of living make life better for all, with those at the bottom in America society considered privileged by the poverty-stricken in non-capitalist Third World countries. This result, D'Souza believes, elevates capitalism to a moral good so long as it retains the goal not of "I win, you lose," but "I win and therefore you win, too."

Sort of dry in a few places
I like most of Dinesh D'Souza's books, but this book was a bit dry. I guess maybe the subject matter didn't really lend itself to a full book. It just couldn't hold my attention. While some parts were somewhat interesting--such as, the discussion of the super-rich, and who owns what in America. Overall I would pass on this book. I can recommend his other books, though. ... Read more

Book Description

City, county and school district elected officials annually deal with multi-million, sometime billion dollar budgets. But many have little, if any, knowledge about local government financial matters when first elected. Written in an easy to understand style, this book provides beginning and seasoned elected officials and public administrators with the fiscal awareness to confidently make good budget and financial decisions.Local government is more complex today and there are more opportunities for poor judgement, conflicts of interest, embezzlement and fraud. The best antidote is an informed constituency that insists on good government and accountability.Community members, homeowners groups, business people, unions, service organizations, public watchdogs and newspaper reporters who want to assess their local elected officials' performance will find this book invaluable. Each chapter begins with a real life story such as the city manager who used the city's credit card to go on an lavish shopping spree, the city that used debt to mask it's huge deficit or the school superintendent who sacrificed the district's solvency to create an award winning curriculum. Vignettes from over 77 different local governments across the country are used to buttress the suggested tips and techniques. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

An excellent budget, financial and treasury primer.
As an elected Treasurer and local government finance director for the past several years, I found this book to be an excellent primer for all elected and appointed officials. The practical advice offered by Mr. Wood is based on his experience and input from his peers and is extremely valuable. The book is written in a very informal and concise way and should be required reading for all elected officials. In fact, I gave this book to each City Council member and they have all indicated that this book provided excellent financial advice.

Excellent reading for the Government Watchdog
Len Wood presents Dollars and Sense in a practical manner enabling readers to absorb its content. A must read book for those that "watch" their local governments, school districts and elected officials. Written for fast reading,yet covers the subject matter extensively. If you want to be certain your local government is working at its fullest potential, Dollars & Sense can be a great help to you.

Great book for people interested in local government.
What a delightful book. The author has presented his subject in an understandable and capitivating manner. He does this by using lots of real life vignettes to make his points. People who want to know what their local officials should and should not be doing will want to read this book.

A Guide for Achieving Job Longevity in the Public Sector
Here is a "no holds barred" approach to describing "real life" shortcomings in handling public finances, and then providing tips to local government policy makers and managers on how to avoid a similiar circumstance.

Len Wood writes from first hand knowledge and experience. He describes the situation; outlines the facts; details the results; and provides the reader with suggestions to lessen financial risk and/or failure in the expenditure of public funds.

While the author's primary target is the newly elected official, the importance of this work to experienced elected and appointed public officals cannot be overstated. No one who has worked in the public sector can peruse this book without saying, "There, but for the grace of God, go I!" ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Creates more questions than answers
I read this book in a "Political and Economic Anthropology" class and found it to be somewhat disappointing. Cultural anthropology, by its very nature, is case study oriented, so it is no surprise that the articles focus on many different places and situations, many of which are interesting to read. However, I think the book failed to pull all the very diverse articles together and come out with a point or thesis for the anthology as a whole.

Throughout much of the reading, even after classroom discussions, I found myself asking "so what's the point?", "what is this book supposed to be teaching me about globalization in general?", "what does this particular article have to say about the broader processes involved with globalization?", etc... The introduction, written by the editors, is a good introduction to the concepts of globalization. The second article by Appadurai is theoretical in nature, but is almost incomprehensible. He uses so much jargon (and even some made-up words) and allusions to other theories that unless you already know what he's trying to say, his article will do little more than frustrate you. The remainder of the articles deal with individual case studies by various researchers.

This anthology contains some interesting articles that give glimpses into how some people and cultures are affected by and interacting with forces of globalization. In that regard, it is pretty good. However, if you are looking for an approachable, theoretical introduction to globalization from an anthropological standpoint which augments it argument with case studies (as oppose to just including them obstensibly for their own sake), you might want to look elsewhere

Disappointing
Characteristic of this reader is the bothersome overlap of topics. It dramatically fails to give insight in theories of globalization itself and the link between these theories and global reality. After studying this reader even experienced students of Anthropology will give anything for something that is less grandiloquent and more useful because of it's simplicity. ... Read more

Book Description

In the 1970s and 1980s the countries of Latin America dealt with their similar debt problems in very different ways--ranging from militantly market-oriented approaches to massive state intervention in their economies--while their political systems headed toward either democracy or authoritarianism. Applying the tools of modern political economy to a developing-country context, Jeffry Frieden analyzes the different patterns of national economic and political behavior that arose in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela. This book will be useful to those interested in comparative politics, international studies, development studies, and political economy more generally. "Jeffry Frieden weaves together a powerful theoretical framework with comparative case studies of the region's five largest debtor states. The result is the most insightful analysis to date of how the interplay between politics and economics in post-war Latin America set the stage for the dramatic events of the 1980s."--Carol Wise, Center for Politics and Policy, Claremont Graduate School

Reviews (1)

"Modern Political Economy" in Latin America
Frieden's "Debt, Development and Democracy" is a rational-choice analysis of economic group interests (the "demand side" of political economy) in Latin America that seeks to explain widely differing political and economic outcomes in five countries who faced nearly identical external economic conditions.By holding the external financial environment (foreign lending) constant across the five cases, Frieden can explain two kinds of divergent outcomes (economic policy and political change) through his independent variable:the political interaction of economic interest groups acting rationally vis-a-vis the state to maximize their interests.

Frieden's argument rests on the assumption that foreign loans were liked a pie to be divided.When the pie was large, during the lending spree of 1965-1982, economic interest groups in each of the five countries determined the distribution of the pie based on their political competition for capital.Since these groups were acting to maximize their economic interests, Frieden analyzes these interests in order to explain their impact on the first dependent variable:economic policy during the borrowing period.He finds that the most significant factor determining interests was the nature of national labor-capital relations.In the three cases where labor-capital relations were calm (Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil) various "sectors" of the economy squabbled over the pie, resulting in interventionist economic policy and political cleavages that cut across the labor-capital divide.The winners in this battle for government largesse were the economic sectors that were strongest in two key areas:asset specificity and concentrated organization.But in the two cases where labor-capital relations were contentious, (Argentina and Chile) Frieden shows that capitalists across all sectors recognized their common interest and refrained from sectoral squabbling by forcing the state to eschew interventionism and protect the business climate by liberalizing markets.

After 1982, when the pie began to shrink, it was the nature of these established interest group/state relationships that determined Frieden's second dependent variable:each country's political response to the financial crisis.In the 3 sectoral countries, plus Argentina (where class conflict had subsided and sectoral cleavages therefore rose to prominence), the politically powerful sectors realized their common interest by joining forces to overthrow the regime or government (or the "policy orientation" in the case of one-party Mexico) that could no longer protect their economic interests.But in Chile, where class conflict still seethed, Frieden argues that the entire business community made a rational choice to maintain its pro-regime stance, feeling that they had more to fear from a resurgence of the left than they did from the government's inability to meet their economic demands.This explains the fact that Chile is the book's only case where authoritarianism survived the debt crisis.

Frieden offers two kinds of evidence to test his theory:quantitative and qualitative.The qualitative evidence, showing the behavior of interest groups vis-a-vis the state, is made up of interviews with key players in each of the five countries, plus numerous citations from other studies, both historical and contemporary, that ostensibly use qualitative data.The quantitative data is primarily made up of statistics on Frieden's key antecedent condition, foreign lending (to illustrate the similar nature of debt conditions across the five cases) and also his economic dependent variable:well-organized and asset-specific sectors pushing for state intervention in the economy (to illustrate the fact that sectoral economies spent their foreign loans in statist ways, while the two other cases spent their money in more "liberal" ways).Fewer statistics are needed for Frieden's political dependent variable, political change after the debt crisis, since most observers would agree that Chile changed much less than the other cases (although some would say that Frieden's "policy orientation" variable in Mexico is meaningless, since the PRI never lost its grip on power.But if Frieden were to admit that Mexico did not experience political change after the debt crisis, then his argument would be falsified).

Frieden makes it easy to assess the logical completeness of his rational choice argument by himself bringing up possible alternative theoretical interpretations of his data.While this is an admirable attempt at fair and open social science, it also gives us easy access to the deficiencies of his approach.Frieden himself admits that the behavior of interest groups cannot account for all changes in political economy, but then goes on to assert that "trends toward or away from democracy are largely a function of political actors' evaluation of which institutional arrangement will best serve their interests, not of structural characteristics of developing societies" (137).While this is a bold statement, it robs all other variables (international economic conditions, institutions, the state, ideology, strategic interaction, etc.) of too much of their explanatory power.To argue that economic interest groups alone can determine the nature of economic policy and the extent of political change is an overstatement of their individual capabilities, and Frieden probably knows it.Rational choice assumes too much omnipotence on the part of particular groups and individuals, and too much power to act in their collective interests.Nonetheless, Frieden's explanation is parsimonious, and sheds much light on heretofore ignored factors in the development/democracy relationship. ... Read more

Amazon.com

While numerous books have been written criticizing the policies and practices of the George W. Bush administration, few have been as foreboding about the meaning of those policies and practices as Mark Crispin Miller's Cruel and Unusual. In Bush and company, Miller sees a regime comparable to the most ruthless authoritarian dictatorships of the modern era and warns that Americans, skillfully duped by a corrupt government and a complicit mass media, are blithely accepting the curtailing of their liberties and the eradication of their democracy. The attacks of September 11, 2001 and the tremendous fear and insecurity they generated among the American people provided, in Miller's estimation, ample opportunity for Bush and company to move the country to a place where dissent is crushed by force, wars are started on lies, and democratic elections will soon be a thing of the past. Cruel and Unusual makes a compelling case by providing massive amounts of evidence, some concrete and some speculative, although at times the sprawling range of his subject matter harms Miller's attempts to form a cohesive argument. And for someone writing a book about George W. Bush, Miller is awfully preoccupied with the treatment President Bill Clinton received from the press and right-wing activists. Particularly strong, however, are passages related to the build-up to war in Iraq and the discrediting of weapons inspector Scott Ritter, who insisted that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. Miller provides transcripts from cable news talk shows where administration spokesman attack Ritter with the apparent assistance of like-minded hosts while Ritter himself doggedly defends himself and persistently rejects the main reason given for war. Cruel and Unusual is one of the most energetic and dire criticisms of the Bush administration but its urgency is matched by the crimes it sees being committed. --John Moe ... Read more

Book Description

Here's the Real Deal! The same Washington politicians who took control of Congress by promising to balance the federal budget are now bankrupting America by launching the biggest spending spree in the history of the United States.

With big-spending Democrats at their side, President George Bush and his "conservative" Republican Congress have controlled the government's checkbook while the national debt has skyrocketed past seven trillion dollars. That's right, $7,000,000,000,000. How has the party of Reagan become the party of big- government spending?

Now former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough delivers a scathing indictment of Republicans and Democrats alike in the same informed, hard-hitting, and entertaining style fans of Scarborough Country have come to admire. Having had a ringside seat during his four terms in the House of Representatives, Scarborough gives the inside scoop on how Washington really works and on the spending orgy the Republicans have fueled the last ten years.

The story begins with Newt Gingrich's Contract with America and the Republicans promising to balance the budget and reform Washington. It culminates with a Republican president continually rubber-stamping pork-filled appropriations bills that squander taxpayer dollars. That is, unless you think it's necessary to spend millions of dollars on research into "alternative salmon products" in Alaska, or the study of crickets in Utah, or of sea turtles in Hawaii. Sadly, these instances merely hint at the gross spending by Congress.

... Read more

Book Description

An economic history of Britain since 1700, in three volumes by thirty-nine eminent historians and economists, this book will succeed the first edition of "Floud and McCloskey" (published in 1981) as the leading textbook on its subject. The text has a firm economic basis, but emphasizes the historical context and chronology and is written in straightforward and jargon-free English. Volume 1 covers the period 1700-1860, that of Britain's rise to relative economic supremacy. Volume 2 discusses the period 1860-1939, that of the height of British economic power and of painful readjustment after 1914.Volume 3 considers the period since 1939, that of relative economic decline and of increasing involvement with the European Community. ... Read more

Book Description

An economic history of Britain since 1700, in three volumes by thirty-nine eminent historians and economists, this book will succeed the first edition of "Floud and McCloskey" (published in 1981) as the leading textbook on its subject. The text has a firm economic basis, but emphasizes the historical context and chronology and is written in straightforward and jargon-free English. Volume 1 covers the period 1700-1860, that of Britain's rise to relative economic supremacy. Volume 2 discusses the period 1860-1939, that of the height of British economic power and of painful readjustment after 1914. Volume 3 considers the period since 1939, that of relative economic decline and of increasing involvement with the European Community. ... Read more

Book Description

A dazzling blend of business vision, history, social psychology, and economics, The Support Economy starts with a compelling premise: People have changed more than the corporations upon which their well-being depends. In the chasm that now separates the new individuals from the old organizations is the opportunity to forge a capitalism suited to our times and so unleash a vast new potential for wealth creation.

In recent years, many books have offered fixes for this crisis, but they have dealt only with its symptoms. The Support Economy is the first book to critically examine its cause: Managerial capitalism has outlived the society it was once designed to serve. It successfully achieved the efficient production of goods and services, but today's individuals want more. They want to take their lives into their own hands and are ready to pay for the support and advocacy necessary to fulfill that yearning. The next leap forward in wealth creation depends upon developing a new capitalism that speaks to the needs of people today.The Support Economy will be the next "must read" big think book. It speaks to every business and technology leader, as well as every reader interested in the future of the economy and society. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

The Support Economy by Shoshana Zuboff
The overall thrust of the book admits to the success of the
managerial economy in maximizing efficiency. The human dimension
has lagged behind the maximization formulas. Many corporations
can no longer guarantee a life time employment scenario.
Therefore; it is important to develop a strong entrepreneurial
class/capability to take up the slack. The authors discuss
"distributed capitalism" to empower individuals to exploit the
new technologies . The authors discuss an important concept
which involves merging infrastructure activities to exploit
strengths in the bureaucratic systems and distribute these
advantages across a wide spectrum of users. The book makes
a point in explaining that half of what people buy today
was not available a century ago. The authors envision a solution
in home employment to empower the babyboomers well into the
future. This is an important work. It could be developed
further in some of the aforementioned areas. For instance,
there is a wide array of government assistance available to
small business owners and aspirants. This aspect could have
been developed more fully. Matthew Lesko has a number of
government self-help books on the subject of government
grants, giveaways and low cost loans for small business.

A New Framework for Business
This is a book of two parts. The first is a detailed examination of why managerial capitalism has reached the end of its useful life. Zuboff and Maxmin say that because the system is out of date it cannot serve the needs of todays consumers. They also say that its inward focus results in scandals like Enron because managers think the comany is there to serve their needs, Managers are at the center of the system and value is inside the company. All of this was ok for making things but failed to deliver good service because it was not designed to do this. It used technology to reduce cost and depressed the impact of the internet. The net result is that we as consumers have changed, management has not and we suffer. WE seek help and only get a bloody nose.. The second part of the book follows the logic of the demise the managemet system Here value goes outside the company and rests with individuals ( it is distributed) To achieve alignment everything else ( control systems, ownership etc ) becomes distribed and wealth is realised by allowing people to live life on their own terms- by providing them with ' deep support" Here the techological and organisational vision is revolutionary. You need to forget all you have learned and think about capitalism from the ground up. The authors envision using digital platforms to provide common data and service. They suggest this will take 30% plus out of todays cost. These platforms will be base for new services and levels of support ranging from the fully automated to the personal. Here are advocates who navigate the world on your behalf. This is a whole new function ... they provide the ultimate range of support . They represent federations whose sole purpose is to provide different levels of support leveraging off the digital platforms. Federations obtain products and servcie from enterprises which come together and break apart .The whole concept is unique and extremely challenging. The idea is to create debate not to be perscriptive. The story of the family used to illustrate the metaprinciples of distributed capitalism is great. It makes you understand how different things can be and need to be. Zuboof and Maxmin have convinced me not only that change is necessary and inevitable but there is a new future to write. Some people may dismiss their ideas as too radical but look at their track records- they know what they are talking about. The world needs more creative and visionary thinkers like this-people who are not affraid to embrace the future and challenge the status quo-- we should all applaud them

An Outstanding Diagnosis
I strongly recommend The Support Economy.

I'll start with the negatives -- it took me about 100 pages to really get into it; like most business books the authors repeat themselves; the future state they outline is sketchy; and they don't even really attempt to describe how we get from here to there.

The reason I'm recommending it is that Zuboff and Maxmin absolutely nail the diagnosis of what's wrong with the interaction between producers and consumers today -- the way that individuals (at home and at work) are the shock absorbers between what enterprises know how to do and what people today need; the reason that managerial capitalism has to give way to, well, something new that they call "distributed capitalism;" the need to move beyond the relentless optimization of transactions and towards the maximization of value in the context of people's lives. And, thinking about my own situation and those of many of my peers, it just rings true. My personal trainer (who is also an event planner) is a kind of poster child for this new capitalism.

While "support" is in the title, this isn't a book about technical support -- it's about a new value proposition of people helping people, not just better-products-cheaper. That being said, it is strongly influencing my thinking about technical support in general and my consulting company's value proposition in particular.

Stellar!!
This book has changed the way I think about the world and business. I never thought about the fact that when markets change the way we do business must change. The book calls us ' history's shock absorbers" as we live with the pain and opportunity that arises when one business model is dying and another is being born. The book is packed with insights, facts and theory that open the mind to a new way of doing business. It is ground breaking stuff. We never think about capitalism in our everyday business lives but maybe we should have done . We are part of history and we can make more money and build better corporations if we really understood this. I would recommend this book to everyone. It is a great read and a map to a new future.

A Pedantic Mess of a Good Idea
These authors are on the right track but they are more interested in impressing readers with their vocabulary than following through with some do-able solutions. I firmly believe that corporations need to catch up to what the customer really wants but this book meanders through a maze of technical and non-related issues which distract from the great theme it is about. I trudged through the whole book waiting for an answer to the problem I could understand but there was absolutely no common sense I could grasp that would lead me to a satisfactory conclusion. Felt like I was back in school again. Ugh! ... Read more

Book Description

Russia's historic transition from communism in the 1990s sparked intense, often ideological debates. This book offers a firsthand glimpse into the intellectual challenges that Russia's turbulent transition generated. It deals with many of the most important reforms, from Gorbachev's half-hearted "perestroika," to the mass privatization program, to the efforts to build legal and regulatory institutions of a market economy. The essays in this book attempt to identify the driving forces of Russia's rapidly changing economic and social reality.

To understand Yeltsin's reforms, the book argues, it is essential to grasp their twin goals of destroying the remnants of the communist order and building the institutions of a market economy. Time after time, reforms were shaped to assure that communism, with its overwhelming control of the economy and society, the planning ministries, and pervasive centralization, cannot come back to Russia. Many of the successes, as well as the pathologies, of the Russian economy during the 1990s must be understood from this perspective. Despite many setbacks, Yeltsin succeeded in his life's mission. By the end of the twentieth century, both a market economy and a democracy were developed in Russia. Each was both vulnerable and flawed, but the escape from communism was certain. A decade after communism, Russia became a normal country.

Book Description

From Tijuana to Tierra del Fuego, Latin America is remarkably misunderstood, often viewed merely as a source of cheap labor, where corrupt politicians and drug lords run rampant. As a result, many--especially smaller--U.S. businesses are missing out on lucrative opportunities to expand their operations into this dynamic region, home to over 500 million consumers. Drawing from over 30 years of first-hand experience and research, Dr. Thomas Becker helps readers overcome these stereotypes and presents a concise and authoritative approach to conducting business in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and South America. ... Read more

Book Description

Although abundantly endowed with oil, diamonds, and other naturalresources, the African nation of Angola has suffered decades of militaryconflict, economic decline, and human misery. Tony HodgesÍs incisive case studyshows that it is AngolaÍs very wealth that has brought the country to itscurrent wretched condition. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Tony Hodges comes clean
Tony Hodges has finally seen the light regarding Angola. A known MPLA sympathiser, his book shows that there is no right or wrong in Angola. Both the MPLA and UNITA are fighting a 30 year civil war for power. Angola's natural resources provide the monetary resources to continue the war.

Hodges does an excellent job in describing Angola's vast natural resources, the allocation of those resources, and the fraud and corruption associated with the resources. His charts and tables are of particular value to an Angolan scholar.

He also details how UNITA thrives by continuing to hold some diamond mining areas and how they export the stones for funds to oil their military machine.

However, Hodges best contribution is his explanation of how the MPLA government spends billions on defense while the Angolan people starve. Much of the money spent lines the pockets of MPLA generals, and politicians.

My question would be if the MPLA regime is so corrupt would a UNITA victory be more disastrous? ... Read more

Book Description

This book explains why African countries have remained mired in a disastrous economic crisis since the late 1970s. It shows that dynamics internal to African state structures largely explain this failure to overcome economic difficulties rather than external pressures on these same structures as is often argued. Far from being prevented from undertaking reforms by societal interest and pressure groups, clientelism within the state elite, ideological factors and low state capacity have resulted in some limited reform, but much prevarication and manipulation of the reform process, by governments that do not really believe that reform will be effective. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Best Book on African Development for Many Years
The Politics of Permanent Crisis is simply one of the best books on contemporary Africa to come out for ages. The author, who has been writing sensibly on Africa, political reform, and foreign aid issues for many years, takes on a whole range of often contradictory academic work to help explain why Africa has been unable to grow faster despite increasingly levels of external financial assistance. Van de Walle argues coherently that local politics within many African countries have combined with donor practices to militate against the fundamental changes required for African economies to take-off. Seen in this light, the lack of reforms and disappointing outcomes from foreign aid in Africa are not mysteries, but rather the logical outcomes of the incentives under which the various players operate. This is a seminal contribution to our understanding of Africa's economic and political dilemmas -- and an excellent complement to Bill Easterly's "The Elusive Quest for Growth". If there is any shortcoming in the book, it is a minor quibble that van de Walle seems too dismissive of the role of individual leaders in sparking recovery (e.g., surely, Jerry Rawlings and Yoweri Museveni deserve some personal credit for turning Ghana and Uganda around). This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Africa's development challenges and the role of the international community.

The Puzzle of African Exceptionalism
Nicolas van de Walle's prize-winning book explains the puzzle of African exceptionalism with an intelligent and nuanced framework. Focusing on the politics behind the seemingly permanent crisis, van de Walle explains the pervasive rise of neopatrimonial rule on the continent -- a political system that depends on patronage and clientelism, and which is a feature of many low-income, largely subsistence-based polities around the world. Van de Walle's dual training in economics and political science, and his extensive experience living and working in many of the countries of the sub-continent, make this book deep, broad, and credible. I've recommended it to many who want to understand what is behind their t.v. screens: why has poverty grown in Africa? Why is this the region most troubled by small-scale political wars? Its scholarly but accessible style, complimented by extensive footnotes and references, also make this an excellent book for students.

How the Academy Fails Africa
This book represents Nicolas van de Walle's attempts to characterise Africa's political economy in the era of 'partial reform' in comparative perspective. Unfortunately, this book which could have fulfilled an important lacunae in the field is largely a poorly thought out academic hustle. The analysis is full of mutually contradictory statements, and given the author's evident lack of familiarity with the cases he is comparing with S.S.A. his comparative analysis lacks any bite or merit. Nowhere is this more clear than in his comparisons between Africa and Latin America. Throughout the author cites and misrepresents work with which he is clearly unfamiliar and large sections appear to be plagiarised from uncited sources. The author also demonstrates a lack of familiarity with rudimentary social science concepts and cannot even distinguish for example between an African regime and an African State. These failings are glaring, and the book's attempts to correct theoretical misunderstandings about the autonomy of the African state are rendered irrelevant. Throughout the book, the author's personal value judgements are not accompanied by empirical support particularly where the author engages in the critique of other significant monographs in the discipline. For these reasons, despite sweeping pretense and fanfare the monograph fails to make a significant theoretical or empiraical contribution to the disciplines of comparative and African political economy. ... Read more

Book Description

Visionary activist and author Jeremy Rifkin exposes the real stakes of the new economy, delivering "the clearest summation yet of how the Internet is really changing our lives" (The Seattle Times).

Imagine waking up one day to find that virtually every activity you engage in outside your immediate family has become a "paid-for" experience.It's all part of a fundamental change taking place in the nature of business, contends Jeremy Rifkin. After several hundred years as the dominant organizing paradigm of civilization, the traditional market system is beginning to deconstruct. On the horizon looms the Age of Access, an era radically different from any we have known. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

PAYING FOR LIVING
How are we going to cope with the Internet era and the new cultural capitalism? At the beginning of the third millennium, the impact of new technologies is radically changing the structure of society and our very way of life. This highly debatable new book by Rifkin delineates the scenarios of the near future, where ideas and knowledge are the main generators of wealth, where for the first time in modern history owning chattels is considered a limitation to the capacity of adapting to change and any goods, services or actual knowledge must be purchased or hired. Here Rifkin explains why property will be replaced by "access on payment", why we will pay more and own less, why the gap between those connected to the "network" and those who aren't will always be wider, and why the economic giants possessing the keys to the "access" (it's just like the Force!) are destined to control the life of everyone. This work surely will become one of the most polemical issues of this year, with all its exploration of hyper-capitalism, the bottom question being: will it be possible to have a positive approach and achieve a positive dissemination of knowledge, comfort, and democracy via the "access to life"? And will there be any Jedis?

A great book, but read it carefully!
Make no mistake, I think that the Age of Access is an outstanding analysis of modern economy.

If you are a young professional and trying to develop a plan for professional development, or if you are a seasoned professional trying to come to terms with the mindset of the young, you should definitely read this book.

The biggest intellectual challenge that exists today for professionals is to understand the "new economy." I am always afraid that tidal waves of disruptive changes are right around the corner (or are already here) that could literally destroy my company or my career. Rifkin elaborates on several modern economic paradigms, and his analysis will help you anticipate and prepare for these fantastic changes.

I agree with some of the gloomy predictions like the destruction of our "Cultural Landscape." In a very vivid example, Rifkin mentions that there is a Dunkin' Donuts just a few yards away from the Trevi fountain in Rome. Even as a self described libertarian, I believe this kind of pollution of the "Cultural Landscape" should be stopped.

Rifkin's elaboration on the economic value of social trust is right on. Nevertheless his implication that trust is withering away in the US is not convincing.

My criticism is that although Rifkin has clearly diagnosed many of societies ills, he falls short of offering an action-based specific resolution. He seems to imply that "a handful of giant transnational life-science companies" represent the evil empire of today, nevertheless he does not say how to undo their influence.

Reading between the lines, it seems that Rifkin is implying that government ought to take control of certain things that are now considered private property. As an example, government would force Dunkin Donuts to move their restaurant to a less sacred location. History shows us that expanding the power of government can have disastrous results. I would have respected the author much more if he would provide a naked description of his action plan.

Good and Valuable Book
I liked the book very interesting description of the times we are living in. Helps understand the economic tendencies that are actually occurring around us. I enjoy reading it!

Access this book as soon as you can
Indeed an outstanding analysis of capitalist transitions. Very infomred study of how the mode of reproduction in capitalist society is redefining itself and who the agents of change are.
A must read for all students of politcal and social sciences; a strong recommednation for everyone who wants to step back and reflect on where we are heading and how things got rolling. The only short-coming I see, is that Rifkin strangely avoids building on marxist thought, hardly any references and it seems he tried to "skip" Marxism in an effort to stay popular amongst a largely US readership. Still, a most important book, any current day social researcher and political analyst should make this book a key reference point.

Spectacular analysis of today's hyper culture and commerce.
Your life is part of a larger drama. As you grow up you are presented with numerous options as to the character you will play. What attributes should your character have, what personality traits, what reputation, what should your character strive to be? Will you take on different personas at work, in social situations, in simulated environments? The choice is up to you, but your choices are presented by advertisers who seek to steer you in a particular direction and supply you with the props to act out your character of choice.

Once you acquire the physical props needed to reinforce your character (which have limited revenue potential for the companies supplying them), you need to compliment your props with experiences. Maybe you want to play a distinguished individual; one who lives in an exclusive golf community with others of similar status and means. Your character of choice has the newest cars, the latest gadgets, and adheres to the norms of others playing similar roles.

You own little if anything and consume most everything as a service - you lease your car, despite "owning your home" you have to pay for all kinds of memberships and fees to keep up the act. You script your social circles and cultural experiences. The majority of your relationships are based on monetary exchange and are pre planned. You are able to purchase cultural experiences based on what market research has determined you want to experience. You are presented with that which others have determined you want to see and will pay the most to experience. Your experiences don't reflect reality, as it exists in nature, but the "reality" which you want to, and think, should exist.

If you have enough financial resources you can rent the exact character you want to play, buy all the necessary props, and engage in all the appropriate cultural experiences. Everyone will treat you just the way you want to be treated. You'll be able to script your whole life. Will your relationships be built on trust, empathy, compassion and other genuine human emotions? Does any of this matter? Is there any difference between a life where everything is a paid for experience and one where it is not? Is this much ado about nothing? That's up to you to decide. Jeremy vividly describes how such scenarios may affect you.

Another fundamental issue in "The Age of Access" is the private ownership and control of public assets and natural resources. Should a private entity be allowed to claim exclusive ownership of the radio spectra over which all sorts of communications are broadcast? Should a biotech company be able to patent (and therefore have exclusive use) of a particular gene that has always existed in nature but has only recently been discovered and put to a particular use? Should companies be able to have patents on the very building blocks that make up life on Earth? Should they be able to patent things that make up your body? When it comes to property rights, where is the line between private property and the right of humanity to share in and access the natural wealth of the planet?

Monsanto, through the development of "Terminator seeds", has already shown how such patents and associated biological tampering may be used for the financial gain of a few to the detriment of the food supply of the world.

[Terminator seeds were developed by Monsanto as a way to claim intellectual property rights and revenue from farmers. The seeds are bio-engineered to be sterile so that instead of simply harvesting seeds at the end of one crop season to be used for the next, the farmer would have no choice but to ante up to Monsanto for seeds for next years crop.]

The parallel is made between cultural diversity and biodiversity. As the world's natural resources are depleted, can we continue our current lifestyles, our massive energy consumption? Many other works contend the answer is no. Rifkin compares biodiversity to cultural diversity. Can capital markets continue to operate if the very social fabric and trust on which they are built is transformed into continuum of paid for experiences?

"The Age of Access" is brilliant. It raises issues that will become more and more important as we move forward into the age of "hyper-capitalism". Will it matter if your life becomes a series of subscriptions and paid for experiences? Should any private entity be able to claim control over things like genes or radio spectra or should they remain in the public domain for all to use? Is it in anyone's interest for corporations like McDonalds's, Dunkin Doughnuts, Starbucks, and others to steamroll local cultures and business outside of the US in the pursuit of profit? Rifkin presents scenarios that address these and many other questions. You may or may not agree with issues and perspectives in the book but its one book you can't afford to pass up. ... Read more

Book Description

Interest in power systems economics is gaining momentum with the recent power supply shortages in America and the rising cost of fossil fuels. The involvement of independent power generators, brokers and distributors has changed the way in which power systems operate. Kirschen and Strbac use a combination of traditional engineering techniques and fundamental economics to address the long-term problems of power system development in a competitive environment. Power system engineers, operators, planners and policy makers working in the deregulated environment will value this practical guide, also of great interest to postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students in electrical and power engineering.

• Outlines the principles of competitive electricity markets alongside the operation and development of the supporting transmission and distribution networks
• Applies basic economic principles to power system operating and planning
• Written by recognised experts in the field

Book Description

Kenichi Ohame looks ahead to the future of business in the age of the Internet and sees a rapidly changing landscape -- one to which we must adapt or face the consequences. Ohame unveils this new economy's four basic forces and shows how a dramatic and volatile battleground is forming between companies and the countries that try to regulate them.

Just as The Borderless World foresaw a globally interlinked economy, The Invisible Continent maps out the coming technological revolutions and the impact they will have on the businesses around the world. A must read for anyone seeking to attain and keep a competitive advantage in today's markets, The Invisible Continent is a "timely, well-written, and well-organized book" (Library Journal).

Reviews (15)

THIS IS A WORK OF AWE-INSPIRING BUSINESS GENIUS.
As the author of "Start & Run a Profitable Exporting Business," I had the great honor of receiving Dr. Ohmae's endorsement of my book. I have been an admirer of his since starting a global marketing, consulting and web content providing business in 1985. His first book, "The Borderless World," not only inspired me to focus my entire professional career on global trade, but also changed forever the way in which managers throughout the world viewed their business.

Now, looking forward with great anticipation to this new book, "The Invisible Continent: Four Strategi