Globalization: Suggested Source Material

The Case Against the Global Economy
Edited by Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith, Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1996. In the first anthology of critics of the global economy, 43 leading economic, agricultural, cultural, and environmental experts who charge that free trade and economic globalization are producing exactly the opposite results from what has been promised. They argue to reverse course, turning away from globalization toward a revitalized democracy, local self-sufficiency, and ecological health.

Creating a World That Works for All
By Sharif Abdullah, Berrett-Koehler, San Fransisco, 1999. Sharif Abdullah argues that our fundamental problem is exclusivity, since We live in a world that works for only a few. He argues that we can put an end to these complex problems by embracing inclusivity--the realization that all of our lives are inextricably linked, and that the answers lie at the heart of all the world's spiritual traditions.

Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality and Insecurity
By Chuck Collins and Felice Yeskel with United for a Fair Economy, The New Press, New York, 2000.
This guide explains how the great disparity of wealth in America came to exist, including an in-depth analysis of the economic policies and shifts in power that have fueled the growing divide. The authors argue that with wealth and power in the hands of a select few, the majority of people in this country will be shut out of the discussion about the rules of governing our shared lives. It is filled with charts, graphs, and political cartoons--an action-oriented guide to closing the gap between rich and poor.

Economics Explained: Everything You Need to Know about How the Economy Works and Where Its Going
By Robert Heilbroner and Lester Thurow, Touchstone, New York, 1998. This is an introduction to economics with an emphasis on important aspects of our global economy, such as inequities in wealth distribution, the appearance of a new globalized capitalism, and the specter of inflation. In straightforward, accessible language, two of Americas leading economists reveal how to be both a savvy investor and an informed citizen.

Field Guide to the Global Economy
By Sarah Anderson and John Cavanagh, The New Press, New York 2000. This guide makes the international economy comprehensible to everyone while reevealing the effects of corporate-driven globalization. It describes how the global flow of goods, services, money, and people affects communities, workers, the poor, and the environment. Illustrated with charts, graphs, and political cartoons. Appropriate for grades 10-12.

Field Guide to the U.S. Economy
By James Heintz, Nancy Folbre and the Center for Popular Economics, The New Press, New York, 2000.
This book brings key policy issues to life, reflecting the collective wit and wisdom of the best economic literary activists in the country. Includes charts in income inquality, liverly illustrations, and wry cartoons which make it easy and compelling reading for the classroom or for general readers.

A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden Promise of Globalization
By John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, Crown Business, New York, 2000. The is an optimistic view of globalization and how it will continue to change our lives. The authors analze, demystify, and expose the global forces reshaping our world, and they detail both the challenge and the promise those forces hold for individuals, businesses, and governments.

The Global Soul
By Pico Iyer, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2000. Iyer floats across three continents as he tries to grapple with the "transnational village" that our globalizing world is rapidly becoming. He tries to understand what the notion of place means in the modern world where people spend so much time in limbo places like airports and hotels.

Globalization and Its Discontents
By Saskia Sassen, The New Press, New York, 1998.
In a collection of essays the author tackles issues of gender and migration, information technology, and the new dynamics of inequality. She takes on common political, cultural, and economic misconceptions of globalization and offers a thoughtful new look at our increasingly global society.

In the Absence of the Sacred: The Failure of Technology and the Survival of the Indian Nations
By Jerry Mander, Sierra Club Books, San Fransisco, 1991. Mander argues that modern technology has created a culture of robotized citizens and depleted a sense of the sacred in everyday life. He urges a return to the values of indigenous peoples before we lose both our natural resources and the sacred essence of humanity.

Jihad vs. McWorld
By Benjamin R. Barber, Ballantine Books, New York, 1996. Barber examines one of the central conflict of the modern era: consumerist capitalism versus religious and tribal fundamentalism. On one hand global capitalism is dissolving social and economic barriers between nations and homogenizing people, yet on the other other, ethnic, religious and racial hatreds are fragmenting the political world into smaller units. Jihad vs. McWorld is the paradoxical relationship these forces create.

The Lexus and the Olive Tree
By Thomas Friedman, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1999. Arguing that globalization is the international system that replaced the Cold War system, Friedman dramatizes the conflict between "The Lexus and the Olive Tree"--the tension between the new system and the ancient forces of culture, geography, tradition, and community. He details the powerful backlash against globalization by those who feel brutalized by it, and he spells out what we need to do to keep this system in balance. Friedman's book is a good introduction to a defense of free trade.

One World, Ready or Not
By William Greider, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1997. Greider aims to expose the myths and the realities of the global economy in terms of human struggle. Based on interviews with workers and CEOs, government officials and economists, he contends that the global economy is sowing "creative destruction" everywhere; while making possible great accumulations of wealth, it is engaging in widespread human exploitation.

Preparing for the Twenty-first Century
By Paul Kennedy, Vintage Books, New York, 1993. In one of the first books to foresee the effects of globalization, Kennedy explores such themes as population growth, cross-border trade, and huge disparity of wealth. He tackles global problems from the environment to immigration and raises potent questions for citizens preparing for a new century.

The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many
By Noam Chomsky, Odonian Press, Tucson, AZ, 1993. Essays on topics ranging from the new global economy, NAFTA and GATT, U.S. foreign policy in Somalia and Yugoslavia, to the roots of racism. Chomsky shows that the prosperous are also the powerful, while most of the worlds population is not at the table when decisions are being made.

Savages and Civilization
By Jack Wutherford, Crown Publishers, New York, 1994. The renowned anthrologist writes about indigenous peoples who are facing the loss of their cultural identities and demonstrating a growing resistance to the global civilization that threatens to engulf them.

Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed the World
By Mark Pendergrast, Basic Books, New York, 1999. From its discovery on an ancient Ethiopian hillside to its role as millennial exilir, coffee has dominated the economies, politics, and social structures of entire countries. This is history of the modern world as seen through a coffee mug.

When Corporations Rule the World
By David C. Korten, Berrett-Koehler Publishers and Kumarian Press, San Fransisco, 1996. Written by one of the architects of the movement against corporate domination, Korten exposes the devastating consequences of economic globalization for most of the worlds population, yet he also offers a message of hope to move towards a more equitable world.