Fortune favors the bold : what we must do to build a new and lasting global prosperity

Bestselling author and renowned economist Lester Thurow argues forcefully that globalisation is not a done deal and we must seize the moment now if we are to create a new global economy in which all can prosper. As the world economy leaps national boundaries, its hallmark seems to be a rising instaibility and a growing inequality between the first and third worlds. Financial crises in the third world come ever more frequently and seem to be ever more severe. The first world economies seem to be in ever more frantic boom and bust cycles. Globalisation causes riots throughout the world and is one factor in the rise of terrorism against the West. Thurow shows how some nations, including Ireland and China, have embraced the concept of globalisation and placed themselves into a position to prosper with growing and productive national economies. He contrasts their positive actions with Japan, whose leaders have allowed the nation to drift into stagnation and have destroyed its prosperity. He also provides plenty of ideas for corporations, governments, economists, and citizens to act upon. From the Publisher: Bestselling author and renowned economist Lester Thurow argues forcefully that globalization is not a done deal and we must seize the moment now if we are to create a new global economy in which all can prosper. In this new book, Thurow examines the newly-forming global economy, with a special focus on the role of the US and the dangers to our own national well-being. He examines such questions as: What's at stake for us in the global economy? Why is it important that the system be equitable and that other countries prosper along with us? What should our goals as a nation be-long term and short term? What are the tough choices that need to be made in our relationship with other countries and world regulatory bodies? What role should we be playing globally? What are the political, economic, social choices / tradeoffs we will have to confront? Thurow contends that the huge and growing US trade deficit poses grave dangers to the value of the dollar and is putting our own economy in jeopardy. As the world economy leaps national boundaries, its hallmark seems to be a rising instability and a growing inequality between the first and third worlds. Financial crises in the third world come ever more frequently and seem to be ever more severe. The first world economies seem to be in ever more frantic boom and bust cycles. Globalization causes riots throughout the world and is one factor in the rise of terrorism against the West. Thurow shows how some nations, including Ireland and China, have embraced the concept of globalization and placed themselves into a position to prosper with growing and productive national economies. He contrasts their positive actions with Japan, whose leaders have allowed the nation to drift into stagnation and have destroyed its prosperity. He argues that this is the time to choose globalization or be left behind, the time to "build a global economy that eliminates the defects," and he provides plenty of ideas for corporations, governments, economists, and citizens to act upon Lester Thurow Argues Now Is The Time To Shape Globalization Into What We Want It To Be - Before It's Too Late. Today, He Explains, We Are At A Critical Crossroads In The Development Of The Global Economy. We Can Sit Back And Let It Grow As It Will, Or We Can Seize The Moment And Build Economic Systems That Will Minimize Instability, Allow Second And Third World Countries To Thrive, And Protect And Enhance Our Own American Interests. In Short, A Win/win Global Economy That Benefits All Participants.--jacket. A Global Economic Tower Of Babel -- A Global Superstructure Resting On A Capitalistic Substructure Built With New Technologies -- View From The Top Of The Global Tower -- Voices Of Antiglobalization -- Real Dangers To The Global Tower -- Looking Up At The Top Of The Global Tower -- Reshaping Globalization For The Third World -- Reshaping Globalization For The First World -- Help Wanted: A Chief Knowledge Officer -- Structure And Attitudes Of Success. Lester Thurow. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [311]-324) And Index. Contents (x)......Page 10 1. A Global Economic Tower of Babel (1)......Page 11 2. A Global Superstructure Resting on a Capitalistic Substructure Built with New Technologies (25)......Page 35 3. The View from the Top of the Global Tower (46)......Page 56 4. The Voices of Antiglobalization (111)......Page 121 5. Real Dangers to the Global Tower (148)......Page 158 6. Looking Up at the Top of the Global Tower (183)......Page 193 7. Reshaping Globalization for the Third World (221)......Page 231 8. Reshaping Globalization for the First World (245)......Page 255 9. Help Wanted: A Chief Knowledge Officer (261)......Page 271 10. The Structure and Attitudes of Success (296)......Page 306 Notes (311)......Page 321 Index (325)......Page 335 "Lester Thurow argues now is the time to shape globalization into what we want it to be - before it's too late. Today, he explains, we are at a critical crossroads in the development of the global economy. We can sit back and let it grow as it will, or we can seize the moment and build economic systems that will minimize instability, allow second and third world countries to thrive, and protect and enhance our own American interests. In short, a win/win global economy that benefits all participants."--BOOK JACKET