The Ideas That Conquered The World: Peace, Democracy, And Free Markets In The Twenty-first Century

by Michael Mandelbaum

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, three ideas dominate the peace as the preferred basis for relations between and among different countries, democracy as the optimal way to organize political life, and free markets as the indispensable vehicle for the creation of wealth. While not practiced everywhere, these ideas have--for the first time in history--no serious rivals. And although the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were terrible and traumatic, they did not "change everything," as so many commentators have asserted. Instead, these events served to illuminate even more brightly the world that emerged from the end of the Cold War. In The Ideas That Conquered the World, Michael Mandelbaum describes the uneven spread (over the past two centuries) of peace, democracy, and free markets from the wealthy and powerful countries of the world's core, where they originated, to the weaker and poorer countries of its periphery. And he assesses the prospects for these ideas in the years to come, giving particular attention to the United States, which bears the greatest responsibility for protecting and promoting them, and to Russia, China, and the Middle East, in which they are not well established and where their fate will affect the rest of the world. Drawing on history, politics, and economics, this incisive book provides a clear and original guide to the main trends of the twenty-first century, from globalization to terrorism, through the perspective of one of our era's most provocative thinkers.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Political Science, Philosophy, Economics

528 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Mandelbaum makes an impassioned defense of the classical liberal ideal of democracy, free markets, and peace. The book is mostly a history of these ideals, and how they have fared in world history. The author believes that they now stand unchallenged as ideals around the world.

Unlike most writers in this tradition, Mandelbaum is both humble and honest about his subject. He stays away from making bold predictions, and is honest about the downside to these ideals. Unfortunately, he never addresses the inherent weakness in the liberal tradition; the fact that in many ways, liberal states themselves seem unwilling or unable to defend it. However, Mandelbaum is one of the few writers in the liberal tradition who honestly approaches the moral deficiencies of illiberal states, and argues forcefully about their crimes, rather than concentrating on their economic failings.

[Kenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mandelbaum's main thesis seems to be that free markets beget freer societies. That with rising per capita income there was a corellation with liberal democracy as a result. I don't think he provides any definitive proof that this is the case.

[Levie Galapon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll start off by stating that Mandelbaum takes a liberal perspective in interpreting the post-cold war world. If you are very interested in how liberalism prevailed in the world after the cold war then this is the book you should read. Mandelbaum relates Woodrow Wilson's idealism and how it influenced American foreign policy for years to come. I find Mandelbaum's basis for his arguments to be quite strong yet repetitious. In my opinion this book is much longer than it should be. This five hundred page book could of easily been two hundred pages. But overall, Mandelbaum still makes good examples and arguments for his thesis. I believe this book will be interesting to those who want to learn more about the liberal perspective in interpreting history. Also those who are die hard free trade researchers will also find this book to be of value for research.