In defense of globalization / Jagdish Bhagwati.

"A Council on Foreign Relations Book."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Coping with Anti-Globalization -- Anti-Globalization: Why? -- Globalization: Socially, Not Just Economically, Benign -- Globalization Is Good but Not Good Enough -- Non-Governmental Organizations -- Globalization's Human Face: Trade and Corporations -- Poverty: Enhanced or Diminished? -- Child Labor: Increased or Reduced? -- Women: Harmed or Helped? -- Democracy at Bay? -- Culture Imperiled or Enriched? -- Wages and Labor Standards at Stake? -- Environment in Peril? -- Corporations: Predatory or Beneficial? -- Other Dimensions of Globalization -- The Perils of Gung-ho International Financial Capitalism -- International Flows of Humanity -- Appropriate Governance: Making Globalization Work Better -- Appropriate Governance: An Overview -- Coping with Downsides -- Accelerating the Achievement of Social Agendas -- Managing Transitions: Optimal, Not Maximal, Speed -- And So, Let Us Begin Anew.

Globalization has been blamed for everything from child labor to environmental degradation, cultural homogenization, and a host of other ills affecting rich and poor nations alike. Not a day goes by without impassioned authors and activists, whether anti- or pro-globalization, putting their oars into these agitated waters. When all is said, however, we lack a clear, coherent and comprehensive sense of how globalization works, and how it might be made to work better. Enter Jagdish Bhagwati, the internationally renowned economist, known equally for the clarity of his arguments and the sharpness of his pen. In this book, Bhagwati takes on globalization's critics, using sound economic principles and vivid examples rather than inflamed rhetoric, to show that globalization is in fact the most powerful force for social good in the world today.

Bhagwati explains why the "Gotcha" examples are often not as they seem -- that in fact globalization often alleviates many of the problems for which it has been blamed. Bhagwati carefully explains the fallacies that underlie many of the critics' arguments, suggesting that there is a good reason why most globalization protesters come from rich rather than poor countries. Exploring globalization's "human face" in great detail, Bhagwati demonstrates its beneficial effects on a panoply of social issues including poverty, child labor, women's rights, democracy, wage and labor standards, and the environment. He concludes that by focusing so much on globalization's purported evils, we are missing the opportunity to focus on accelerating its achievements while coping with its downsides. Often controversial and always compelling, Jagdish Bhagwati here provides at last a book that cuts through the noise on this most contentious issue, showing that globalization is part of the solution, not part of the problem. Anyone who wants to understand what's at stake in the globalization wars will want to read In Defense of Globalization.