The No-Nonsense Guide to Globalization

No-Nonsense Guides

by Wayne Ellwood

Globalization is all around us. From the richest country to the poorest, every aspect of life is affected by global economics and communications. We all benefit...or do we? This No-Nonsense Guide to Globalization distills the arguments into a clear, concise commentary. It examines the debt trap, the acceleration of neo-liberalism and the “free trade” model, competition for energy resources, and the links between the war on terror, the arms trade, and privatization. It looks at civil society alternatives to corporate globalization and the latest trade justice initiatives.

Genres: Nonfiction, Economics, History, Politics, Academic, International Development, Business

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Wayne Ellwood is a former co-editor at New Internationalist magazine. He is the author of the best-selling No-Nonsense Guide to globalization. He has worked as an associate producer with the BBC television series Global Report and has edited the reference book The A-Z of World Development.

He lives in Toronto where he now works as a freelance editorial consultant and writer.

Reviews

[Tenzin Tsering · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really dense and thorough overview of the consequences of globalization. I really enjoyed reading it and I learned a lot about how the rise of globalization and the economic policies that have ensued since have disproportionally affected the lives people around the world. Mainly, the benefits of the globalization often come at the cost of weaker economies elsewhere in the world. Overall, this book has given me lots to ponder about on my car rides home.

[Julie Francois]

Read for a political science class. Informative information!

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book is very interesting because explains how bad countries lack control over their own affairs in terms of economy, at least some of them and how privileged corporations are. I understood the role of WTO and many other shadow organisations which were estrange to a simple human like me and it helped me connect and understand a lot of things. I recommend it to anybody who is interested to understand how things work around the world. In 2020 I presume a lot of new laws have been introduced so I would like to read an updated version of this book or a similar one. I really liked unbiased, to my opinion, viewpoint of the author.

[P Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice intro to globalisation, and the myriad issues with free trade and markets.

Still feels relevant almost 20 years on. I think the copy I have was published a year or two before the 2008 financial crisis so it would be really interesting to read an edition which covers the Global North being affected by this unregulated financialalisation!

Still a worthwhile read for someone looking for a quick guide to Globalisation

[thalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for a short primer! Not as thorough as one would hope, and there are a lot of cringy sentences. Nonetheless it packs a lot of heat and is pretty dense for its size. Readable and filled with valuable knowledge.
Great class selection

[Cameron Quijada · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good introductory book to globalization: something I know very little about but talk about very often. I didn't have any super lightbulb moment ideological takeaways, but Ellewood had great stats and context about the devastating impacts of neoliberalism, necessity of a planned economy, and the values crisis.

Some really interesting stats about reducing inequality vs. increasing overall wealth, and boom in poverty post-collapse of the soviet union..., I also didn't know all that much about the debt economy, but this book provided a great framework to critique loans to underdeveloped countries.

The best part was probably the overview of the Bretton Woods institutions IMF, WTO, World Bank. There was great historical context, and analysis of their failure to play the role they were (intended? "intended") to play... obviously.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the time that I read this book, I had not taken a economics course beyond the one I had in high school and had little exposure to the concepts of political economy and economic structural violence. Of the Bretton Woods organizations, I had heard of some, but knew nothing of the roles that they have had in the exacerbation of teh poverty they were created to relieve. Nevertheless, I had no problem comprehending the information. The basic concepts (and some of the more complex) were made tangible for even the relatively uneducated reader such as myself and, going back now after having done some extensive research in this field, I find what I had originally understood to be pretty damn close to what I understand now.

[Gregor Burchert · Rating 4 out of 5]

auteur: Wayne Ellwood

de feiten over globalisering

Liberalisering van de wereldhandel is een van de centrale doelstellingen van de Wereldhandelsorganisatie. Anders dan vaak wordt gesuggereerd, leidt globalisering niet tot een verbetering van de levensstandaard in de arme landen. Integendeel. In deze landen wordt, onder druk van de eisen van het Internationaal Monetair Fonds, geproduceerd voor de export en gesneden in sociale voorzieningen. Dit leidt tot een van de wereldhandel afhankelijke economie en tot armoede en sociale tweedeling. Wayne Ellwood laat zien dat de belofte van de vrijhandel, hoe krachtig ook, uiteindelijk loos blijkt te zijn.

[Emma Moulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through good reads first reads.

This is the first book that I've read from 'The No-Nonsense Guide' and I found it to be a very good read. Although it is a small book it is full of loads of information about globalization and as it says, it has no nonsense in it so you're taking right to the point.

If you're interested in globalization, then you really should give this book a read.

[Sobia Raja · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has given me such an insight into the world.
It has added a new dimension to my knowledge.
These are the kind of stuff we're not taught at school but SHOULD be taught!
They say that a book is only good if you can re-read it over an over again - this is that book, this is exactly that kind of book that I will keep reading but never get tired of. Free education man.

[М · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, err guide, it covered all the essential topics in a fair amount of detail given the size of the publication. I honestly just picked it up and browsed through different sections (rather than reading straight through). It definitely inspired me to find more in depth books related to the economic inequality of globalization.

(I reserve 5s for absolutely amazing books)

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short concise guide to globalization (albeit a little left-leaning). Gave me a much clearer understanding of what the IMF, World Bank, and WTO are all about. Some financial concepts of global trade remain elusive, but this book helped.

[Niel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book. Sometimes a bit technical and difficult to understand if one isn't too clued up about economics but they convey the principles quite well. At first I thought it would be a bit biased but it ended up being well balanced. Definitely learnt a lot from this.

[esther]

starting on a kick of anthro books (yay ethnography)...guess i'm just missing school :P

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear concise & true to its title: no-nonsense indeed.

[Miko · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my new bible.

[Tara Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Understanding globalization through politics, economics and development

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good accessible introduction to contemporary global issues.