Making Globalization Work

I'm currently halfway through Joseph Stiglitz's latest book titled "Making Globalization Work". It is a very interesting account of both sides of the globalisation debate and provides a more balanced view than another interesting book I read recently called "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman. Globalization is a topic that affects everyone on a basic level and yet it is very complex. One of the big issues we face today is the increasing gap between the haves and have-nots. This is not only the case for individuals, it is happening to nations as well. Stiglitz does a good job of explaining how this is perpetuated by institutions such as the IMF and WTO. Another interesting fact is that developing countries such as China are effectively providing low interest loans to rich countries such as the United States by buying Treasury bills which enables the US to continue to live beyond its means. This situation is unsustainable and the only question is whether it unwinds slowly or whether it culminates in a massive global financial and economic crisis.

As I read this book I recalled reading books as a teenager such as "Future Shock" by Alvin Toffler where (if I remember correctly) it was predicted that within one or two generations we would not have to work (unless we wanted to) because everything would be automated, life expectancy would exceed 100 years as there would be cures for all terminal illnesses, etc. These wonders (and more) have actually occured as predicted by Toffler, although unfortunately the beneficiaries are but a small percentage of the worlds population. The fact is that there are more people living a stone age existence today, without access to clean water, electricity, education and healthcare, than at any other era in the past. This is probably the most shocking future that hardly any futurists would have imagined without nuclear armageddon taking place, and sadly it is our reality.

"Making Globalisation Work" tries to address the big questions, such as how to break the vicious cycle of poverty and indebtedness, how to align the interests of the developed and developing nations, and how to address global issues such as climate change. These are the true challenges of our generation - challenges that if not successfully tackled will herald a new "dark age" for the world, with lower life expectancy, massive starvation, displacement of entire populations, the inundation of coastal cities, the list goes on.

I hope that in 30 years we will be able to look back and say we were able to rise to the challenge, realising today that the challenge is more difficult than it ever was (back in the good old days when two old men had the fate of the world in their hand in deciding whether or not to press the Big Red Button) and that paradoxically everyone holds the key to what the world will be like in the future through their individual actions.