Better Pay Attention to China

Books Worth Reading

June / July 2009 By: Rolf Dobelli Volume 7 Number 3

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Power and Plenty

As China and India boom, and as the world economy becomes ever more intertwined, globalization looks like a recent phenomenon. This is a shortsighted view of world history. Global trade has existed for centuries, always shaped by political, economic and social upheavals. Thinking of globalization as a new phenomenon or an inevitable one is all too easy. As scholars Ronald Findlay and Kevin O'Rourke explain in this thorough examination, globalization is neither new nor predictable. In fact, international trade has been a reality for more than 1,000 years and the story of global commerce is one of constant change. For centuries, nations have jockeyed for position, imposed rules and killed each other's citizens in the name of trade. This enlightening work rewards the reader with a depth of understanding and context. However, it would benefit from a more conversational, less academic tone. getAbstract recommends it to readers who want to see world economic affairs in a broader context and perspective.

Ronald Findlay and Kevin H. O'Rourke. Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium. Princeton University Press, 2003. List Price: $39.50. ISBN-13: 9780691118543.

Here Comes Everybody

Human beings are social creatures —€”not occasionally or by accident but always—€”and depend on group interaction. Emerging technologies are changing how people interact with their social groups and how new groups form. Now, because e-mail and instant messaging are fast and cheap, time costs are evaporating. Since you can send an electronic message to many people as easily as to one, everybody has access to groups that once only leaders could reach. This fundamental change will produce tremendous upheaval throughout society. Author Clay Shirky tackles a daunting task: To explain how new electronic media are transforming society. Shirky's focus and specificity raise his book to a level of much greater value and utility than its peers. He examines the social nature of human beings, and analyzes how tools ranging from e-mail to text messages change the way people organize into groups. His style is easy, and he tells vivid, interesting and highly convincing stories to illustrate the changes he observes. The result is a book that anyone dealing with group organization and communication should read. getAbstract recommends this innovative work to marketers, social critics, readers interested in human nature, and entrepreneurs who hope to tap into or develop new social structures.

Clay Shirky. Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations. The Penguin Press, 2008. List Price: $25.95. ISBN-13: 9781594201530.

What Does China Think?

China's ascent may be this century's most important event. Vast China has the world's largest population. It is the planet's factory floor, rapidly becoming its most gluttonous devourer of energy and mineral resources. It has developed at a blazing rate. Entire cities emerge overnight. Millions of people have moved into its postmodern metropolises, leaving a countryside where life's rhythm has changed little since the first emperor. Mark Leonard's desultory ramble through China's intellectual landscape introduces that country's most influential economic, political, diplomatic and military thinkers. In a market nearly saturated with books that do little more than echo each other's amazed exclamations at China's rapid economic development, getAbstract considers this a refreshing change. The book's chief value is that it acknowledges the breadth of the diversity of thought within China, and spotlights the conflicts and tensions that are shaping its development.

Mark Leonard. What Does China Think? Public Affairs, 2008. List Price: $22.95. ISBN-13: 9781586484842.