Globalization's Contradictions: Geographies of discipline, destruction and transformation

by Dennis Conway, Nik Heynen

Since the 1980s, globalization and neoliberalism have brought about a comprehensive restructuring of everyone’s lives. People are being ‘disciplined’ by neoliberal economic agendas, ‘transformed’ by communication and information technology changes, global commodity chains and networks, and in the Global South in particular, destroyed livelihoods, debilitating impoverishment, disease pandemics, among other disastrous disruptions, are also globalization’s legacy. This collection of geographical treatments of such a complex set of processes unearths the contradictions in the impacts of globalization on peoples’ lives. Globalizations Contradictions firstly introduces globalization in all its intricacy and contrariness, followed on by substantive coverage of globalization’s dimensions. Other areas that are covered in depth Globalizations Contradictions is a critical examination of the continuing role of international and supra-national institutions and their involvement in the political economic management and determination of global restructuring. Deliberately, this collection raises questions, even as it offers geographical insights and thoughtful assessments of globalization’s multifaceted ‘faces and spaces.’

304 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

Reviews

[Johannes J Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much for so little

I give it 5 for interesting facts that one has to search for amongst the spin. I give it zero for the narrative.
Irritating the same reference multiple times even per paragraph...where did the author "students" learn how to write a fact based subject flowing argument?
The whole exercise can be summarised in a few sentences without referencing:
Adam Smith et al did not live in our modern societies with our tools and instruments.
Capitalism has failed as defined by everyone economists born before 1960.
Governments can play a big role in the woke of its citizens (neo liberation is a better term) but democracy (is democrazy a better term) where the fools as the masses choose the elite to govern has failed themselves with too much "freedoms" which is a mirage
Globalism is a natural outbreak for economic maturity......Reaganism and Thatherism did not invent it, it was forced by the farce of the voters in a democrazy...old term used was laziness. China was handed this role by Japan, and will give it to India. Hopefully it will go to Africa by the time no one needs a toaster or TV anymore.
Did I also sniff a political dagger in the authors' biases.
So much for so little.....I do not recommend this for anyone who is looking for a shorthand to what they are trying to say.