In defense of globalization

1. Anti-Globalization: Why? -- 2. Globalization: Socially, Not Just Economically, Benign -- 3. Globalization Is Good but Not Good Enough -- 4. Non-Government Organizations -- 5. Poverty: Enhanced or Dimished? -- 6. Child Labor: Increased or Reduced? -- 7. Women: Harmed or Helped? -- 8. Democracy at Bay? -- 9. Culture Imperiled or Enriched? -- 10. Wages and Labor Standards at Stake? -- 11. Environment in Peril? -- 12. Corporations: Predatory or Beneficial? -- 13. The Perils of Gung-ho International Financial Capitalism -- 14. International Flows of Humanity -- 15. Appropriate Governance: An Overview -- 16. Coping with Downsides -- 17. Accelerating the Achievement of Social Agendas -- 18. Managing Transitions: Optimal, Not Maximal, Speed -- 19. And So, Let Us Begin Anew

Publisher's description: The riot-torn meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle in 1999 was only the most dramatic sign of the intensely passionate debate now raging over globalization, which critics blame for everything from child labour to environmental degradation, cultural homogenization, and a host of other ills afflicting poorer nations. Now Jagdish Bhagwati, the internationally renowned economist known equally for the clarity of his arguments and the sharpness of his pen, takes on the critics, revealing that globalization, when properly governed, is in fact the most powerful force for social good in the world today. Drawing on his unparalleled knowledge of international economics, Bhagwati explains why the "gotcha" examples of the critics are often not as they seem, and that in fact globalization often alleviates many of the problems for which it has been blamed. For instance, when globalization leads to greater general prosperity in an underdeveloped nation, it quickly reduces child labour and increases literacy (when parents have sufficient income, they send their children to school, not work). The author describes how globalization helps the cause of women around the world and he shows how economic growth, when coupled with the appropriate environmental safeguards, does not necessarily increase pollution. And to counter the charge that globalization leads to cultural hegemony, to a bland "McWorld," Bhagwati points to the example of Salman Rushdie, a writer who blends Bombay slang and impeccable English in novels touched by magic realism borrowed from South American writers. Globalization leads not to cultural white bread but to a spicy hybrid of cultures. With the wit and wisdom for which he is renowned, Bhagwati convincingly shows that globalization is part of the solution, not part of the problem. Anyone who wants to understand what's at stake in the globalization wars must read In Defense of Globalization

In the passionate debate that currently rages over globalization, critics have been heard blaming it for a host of ills afflicting poorer nations, everything from child labor to environmental degradation and cultural homogenization. Now Jagdish Bhagwati, the internationally renowned economist, takes on the critics, revealing that globalization, when properly governed, is in fact the most powerful force for social good in the world today. This edition features a new afterword by the author, in which he counters recent writings by prominent journalist Thomas Friedman and the Nobel Laureate economist Paul Samuelson and argues that current anxieties about the economic implications of globalization are just as unfounded as were the concerns about its social effects.