George Soros On Globalization

by George Soros

Never before have we stood to gain or lose as much from understanding the international economy. Scandals plague the world's largest corporations, the American trade deficit has soared to historic heights, and international organizations from the World Bank to the WTO are accused of being inefficient and corrupt. Is our global economy as unhealthy, and as unjust, as we think? And what can be done about it?

At this critical juncture, George Soros, a major proponent of globalization, takes to task the many institutions that have failed to keep pace with our global economy. At the same time, he offers a compelling new paradigm to bring the institutions and the economy back into necessary alignment. Economics are amoral, he argues -- but neither our society nor our economy can afford to function without a distinct system of right and wrong. As we look toward the future and wonder what's ailing our economy, where our jobs are going, and whether the power of economics can be harnessed for positive changes, this thoroughly updated edition of George Soros on Globalization is a report no citizen of the world can do without.

Genres: Economics, Business, Nonfiction, Politics, Finance, Society

208 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2002

About the author

George Soros is a Hungarian-American financier, businessman and notable philanthropist focused on supporting liberal ideals and causes. He became known as "the Man Who Broke the Bank of England" after he made a reported $1 billion during the 1992 Black Wednesday UK currency crises. Soros correctly speculated that the British government would have to devalue the pound sterling.

Soros is Chairman of Soros Fund Management, LLC.
As one of history’s most successful financiers, his views on investing and economic issues are widely followed.

Reviews

[Tom Darrow · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is pretty awful. I bought it 8 or so years ago when I was in college and the "globalization" thing was a hot topic. It still is today, but this guy does a horrible job at explaining it. It's a very superficial view, which is good for beginners, but it is jam packed with TLA's (three letter acronyms), which make it nearly impossible to understand. Look elsewhere for globalization reads.

[Lothario · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent analysis of the role of international institutions like the IMF and WTO. George offers some solutions to the world system and how globalisation can be used as a tool for good. It is interesting reading this almost two decades after it's publication and how world events have led the US, EU and world down a different path than was originally envisioned

[Ted Heitz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This should scare you. Now is the time to read this as Soros' map is laid out in front of us today.

[Jeremiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soros defends globalization against its detractors and explains how globalization can be tweaked to minimize some of the ill effects. Its detractors claim that the WTO and other agents for globalization neglect the poor, the environment, and social issues in their pursuit of free trade. This book was written shortly after the Seattle WTO protest and 9/11. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the war in Bosnia weigh heavily in Soros's understanding of globalization and Soros counts those republics as a missed opportunity.
quote:
"It can be seen that international assistance is a complicated business... Instead of a bureaucratic approach we should take an entrepreneurial one...the social consequences of an undertaking show up in a variety of lines (ways), and cannot be readily aggregated. The GNP is often used as a proxy. Judged by the standards applied in business, international assistance is bound to be inefficient. One of the reasons foreign aid has such a bad reputation in the US is that it is judged by the wrong standard." (p 69)

1. Globalization is the best path to increased wealth of all nations.
2. However, some states and individuals are losers in the globalization process.
3. To offset this more international aid needs to be given to the economic losers.
4. This is hard to do.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soros writes remarkably concise, clear prose. He acknowledges that, like everyone else, he is better at pointing out problems than proposing solutions, but his solutions are intriguing. I cannot say that I support all of them, but I would enjoy seeing them taken up for discussion.

[Matthew Matheson]

Can not find "What Orwell did not know"

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Globalizarea este un termen superuzitat căruia îi putem atribui numeroase semnificații. Pentru scopurile prezentei cărți, prin acest termen voi înțelege dezvoltarea piețelor financiare globale, creoterea corporațiilor transnațio- nale oi dominația lor crescîndă asupra economiilor naționale. Consider că majoritatea problemelor pe care oamenii le asociază globalizării, incluzînd pătrunderea valorilor de piață în acele domenii de care ele nu aparțin în mod tradițional, pot fi atribuite acestor fenomene. S-ar putea discuta totodată despre globalizarea informației oi a culturii, despre răspîndirea televiziunii, a internetului și a celorlalte forme de comunicare și despre mobilitatea crescută a comercializării ideilor, dar îmi este teamă că asemenea aspecte ne-ar îndepărta de la subiect. Limitînd discuția astfel, cred că o putem menține între niște repere controlabile și că vor rezulta unele propuneri cu caracter practic în vederea unor îmbunătățiri instituționale. Așa cum am definit-o, globalizarea este un fenomen relativ recent care deosebește prezentul de ceea ce se petrecea acum 50 sau chiar 25 de ani.
La sfîrșitul celui de-al doilea război mondial, tranzacțiile internaționale de
capital erau strict controlate în majoritatea statelor. Instituțiile rezultate la
Bretton Woods, Fondul Monetar Internațional (FMI) și Banca Mondială, au fost concepute tocmai pentru a facilita comerțul internațional și investițiile într-un mediu caracterizat prin restricționarea fluxurilor de capital privat. Controalele asupra mișcărilor de capital au fost treptat înlăturate, iar piețele financiare off-shore, stimulate și de criza petrolului din anul 1973, s-au dezvoltat rapid. Mișcările internaționale de capital s-au accelerat la începutul anilor 80, în timpul lui Ronald Reagan și Margaret Thatcher, piețele financiare devenind cu adevărat globale la începutul anilor 90, după colapsul imperiului sovietic.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read Carl Teichrib's Game of Gods to fully understand George Soros' direction for us. Here is a quote from On Globalization's preface:

I believe [this] book...puts forward a constructive agenda that the public could support and the governments of the world implement. The centerpiece of the book is a proposal to use Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) for the provision of public goods on a global scale. The scheme will not cure all the ills of globalization - nothing will - but it should help to make the world a better place.

Cambridge Dictionary
SCHEME: an organized plan for doing something, especially something dishonest or illegal that will bring a good result for you:
AGENDA: a secret aim or reason for doing something

SDRs are:

What are SDRs? The best way to view them is as a virtual currency the IMF issues and controls for the purpose of conducting its lending operations and for balancing monetary deficits and surpluses between nations. SDRs exist in accounting form only. In their purest form, a country with a surplus of SDRs has the right to use its allocations to draw upon the freely usable currencies of other IMF members. Consider them a precursor to bitcoin and a global virtual float that can facilitate an FX swap when it’s most needed. For a long time they were dubbed “paper gold” for this reason. Source: Financial Times "Time for an SDR injection?"; Izabella Kaminska.

Read Carl Teichrib's Game of Gods. Please. And listen to "conspiracy" theorists. Not all of them lack oxygen and many understand the bigger picture to know what they're saying.

[Beta Metani' Marashi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Globalization help only the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, and the rich destroying the middle classes.

Globalist make the world believe they want to spread the wealth but not their wealth. They want to spread your wealth!

Globalist goal is to spread Globalization on the western countries. De-industrialization of the western countries, major illegal immigration, and moving the countries borders!

Globalization endorsed child labor, enslavement of poor countries.

Globalist claim western countries getting lower prices. If Ford afforded to manufacturing cars in the the low cost here in the USA, with modern technology we have today we can afforded to make almost anything in the western countries at the lower cost!

Globalization will risk our jobs, and jobless and illegal immigration will rise crimes.

[Malik Zak · Rating 2 out of 5]

George Soros is a great business man with a vision, however, I am giving this book 2 stars because I found it hard to comprehend many of the points in his book. He could have written the book in an easier way so that readers with different understanding level can get the idea.

[Crystal Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is so boring my eyes are bleeding. Soros writes in plain language, but every idea presented is general and lacking in context. I never regret picking up a book, but I’m disappointed about the time wasted having read this and learned very little from it.

[Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super težka knjiga za nekoga, ki ni ekonomist. Hkrati zanimivo pisanje enega najbogatejsih ljudi na svetu, ki opisuje WTO in IMF kot lokalne kolege, s katerimi pije kavo. Ideja SDR je tezko razumljiva, nekoliko komicna, saj je pri pridobivanju svojega bogastva, verjetno Soros ni uposteval.

[Đạt Tiêu · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a pretty condensed book.
Still some good insight from the author about globalization

[Nynke Doesburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting view on the inequalities created by global capitalism, and a moving argument for creating a global open society. But, written in 2002, it already feels very outdated.

[John Gurney · Rating 2 out of 5]

George Soros defends globalization and free trade against its critics on the Left. The rising tide lifts all boats, though he disagrees with what he disparages as "market fundamentalism". He writes, "Globalization is indeed a desirable development in many ways. Private enterprise is better at wealth creation than the state." He defends the IMF.

Soros is concerned about the shortcomings of the interconnected world. Most of this book covers his very detailed proposals to assist the countries that fail to keep up with the developed world. This book is short as Soros writes in a rather cold, sterile manner. Written in 2002, we read it now with the benefit of hindsight; Soros was right in a vague concern about global financial market instability, though not anticipating its causes (primarily housing finance in the US, Spain, Ireland and other nations) and a few thoughts turned out to be flat wrong, such as his thinking that the Euro was benefiting Europe's periphery - Spain, Italy and Ireland - while, "Germany is fast becoming the sick man of Europe." Not quite. A moderately interesting read for those who enjoy global finance and discussions of the IMF and WTO: all two of us.

[Tiago Martins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Como sempre e já é apanágio da matilha de Soros, livro extremamente simplista, cheio de contradicoes e clichés. Leva 2 (não leva 1) estrelas não pelo conteúdo, mas por expor a cada vez maior nebulosidade no discurso e falta de cultura das nossas elites,quando comparadas às elites do século XX por exemplo. Compare-se os escritos de Julian Huxley com Soros. Diferença abismal. A elite emburreceu e a população enburreceu com ela.

Sempre com um discurso académico, que afasta a frontalidade e a honestidade. Vê se bem de onde vem o discurso académico atual. Um mundo com palavras cliché e bonitas que parecem marcar posição, mas não marcam coisa nenhuma.

Se tivéssemos que analisar o discurso de Soros e da maioria dos académicos e da elite de hoje iríamos notar que o doublespeak (dizer algo com vários sentidos para confundir) era tanto que seria o maior pesadelo de um jurista que quisesse interpretar um crime através deste palavreado.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

even though just written in 2002- it is already kind of dated. (think there is an updated edition) either way, i disagreed with most of his points, but still enjoyed the read because his slant wasn't obnoxious and i think he respectfully and thoroughly analyzed opposite viewpoints throughout the book.

[Pam]

One world government and evil will surely be revealed in his hyper egotistic way. He truly believes he has godlike powers. For those of us without endless money, the evil ambition for world control is in fathomable.

[Batzz2 · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little dry but gives insight to Soros and his great mind.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The basic ideas are relatively easy to follow although it does get pretty dense with economics (and some economic history I never knew) in the second half.