Book Description
A lot more than you might think. By tracing the origin and development of modern management concepts, you can develop a more logical, coherent picture of the present state of management practice, and a deeper understanding of the analytical and conceptual tools of the trade. The History of Management Thought, Fifth Edition, presents the unfolding story of the lives and times of major figures in the field, as well as the enduring themes and influential ideas that have helped shape management thought––from its earliest, pre-industrial beginnings to modern theories. Throughout this comprehensive history, author Daniel Wren profiles significant eras, and analyzes various trends and movements. Now updated and revised, this Fifth Edition reflects the impact of technology and changing market conditions.
Customer Reviews:
History of Managment.......2007-07-16
The History of Management Thought is a good resource to find information about who, when, what, and how of managment. However, key information is embedded in other text so if you don't write the information down right away, it will be hard to find later.
Primer for Management Theory.......2006-11-10
This is an excellent primer for the management theory student. It gives a clear, concise history of organizational management from early civilizations right through to the 21st century. It is easy to read and nicely laid out. Although expensive as far as text books go, it is a book management and leadership students will want to keep for their personal libraries.
Strong Foundation.......2006-02-25
This book is a very strong foundation and the starting point for all management students, managers, and leaders, who are willing to learn about management.
Daniel A. Wren, who is one of the most famous management history gurus of our time, provides the basics necessary to understand the evolution of management thought, before jumping into contemporary works on different areas of management.
This book is the latest edition of "The Evolution of Management Thought". Don't be misguided with the slight change in the name from "Evolution" to "History". Previous prints with title "The Evolution of Management Thought" is out-of-print.
Scholarly, thorough and interesting.......2005-09-21
Management of workers to accomplish organizational tasks predates even the bible. Virtually every field has a organizational structure and management philosophy - even if they don't explicitly state it and some may not even know it! Prior to the modern age, most people simply managed in whatever ad hoc way they thought was best - no one really studied how effective different methods of management were. But as organizations grew in both size and complexity, effective management became synonymous with more profits from higher productivity and less waste.
Dr. Wren traces the evolution of management history and thought - exploring the early ideas of what people believed was effective and how these philosophies changed as more ideas came into the field and as technology changed the way we work. This book is for anyone serious about understanding management philosophy - where it's been, where it is, and where it's going.
The history of management by Wren.......2005-04-21
This book is highly reader friendly. it presents the history of management theory, in an easy to understand chroniclogical format. Daniel Wren introduces terminology, theories and paradigms in a manner that is clear, and concise.
This books is a keeper for any business, management or administration majors, in any discipline.
Average customer rating:
- The Hobo Philosopher
- Must have for any wannabe idealist
- Political Classic...read for historical insight
- A Must Read
- A Misleading Edition
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The Communist Manifesto (Signet Classics)
Karl Marx ,
Friedrich Engels , and
Martin Malia
Manufacturer: Signet Classics
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Amazon.com
"A spectre is haunting Europe," Karl Marx and Frederic Engels wrote in 1848, "the spectre of Communism." This new edition of The Communist Manifesto, commemorating the 150th anniversary of its publication, includes an introduction by renowned historian Eric Hobsbawm which reminds us of the document's continued relevance. Marx and Engels's critique of capitalism and its deleterious effect on all aspects of life, from the increasing rift between the classes to the destruction of the nuclear family, has proven remarkably prescient. Their spectre, manifested in the Manifesto's vivid prose, continues to haunt the capitalist world, lingering as a ghostly apparition even after the collapse of those governments which claimed to be enacting its principles.
Book Description
Critically and textually up-to-date, this new edition of the classic translation (Samuel Moore, 1888) features an introduction and notes by the eminent Marx scholar David McLellan, prefaces written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels subsequent to the original 1848 publication, and corrections
of errors made in earlier versions. Regarded as one of the most influential political tracts ever written, The Communist Manifesto serves as the foundation document of the Marxist movement. This summary of the Marxist vision is an incisive account of the world-view Marx and Engels had evolved during
their hectic intellectual and political collaboration of the previous few years.
Download Description
Still relevant today both as a historical document and as a stirring call for social democracy, this New Albion edition includes Engel's extensive footnotes from the various editions, plus the changing Prefaces written first by Marx and Engels, and later by Engels alone, plus notes on the Manifesto and the various translations of it.
Customer Reviews:
The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-14
Well, if you are a student of Philosophy or economics you must make this a part of your reading whether you want to or not. It is not long. It is not difficult. It is quite explicit. And after you read it you should have a better understanding of where you personally stand politically. I am not going to comment on what it says or advocates. Read it and find out for yourself. You won't need an interpreter.
Must have for any wannabe idealist.......2007-09-10
Well, obviously I havent read this fascinating piece of litrerature, but thats because a read book just looks so scruffy on my beautiful capitalist shelves.
This book makes me look a lot more sympathetic to all those wannabe commies, so why not dish out on a copy too?
Nah just joking, just read it and decide for yourself.
Political Classic...read for historical insight.......2007-06-27
My son required a copy of "The Communist Manifesto" for a philosophy class. After he was done with it, I decided to read it since this was one of the founding documents for Communism.
I found it difficult to decide how to rate this book. The presentation of Manifesto by Penguin in this book is excellent. The central ideas of the Manifesto itself are disturbing.
Should you read the Communist Manifesto? Yes. Is this a good presentation? Yes. Was Communism envisioned by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels a good idea? No. So I have compromised between the excellent presentation and the ideas espoused by the Manifesto in selecting an average rating.
Some reviewers feel that the Manifesto's critique of capitalism is right on; I have grave doubts. Marx and Engels were critiquing capitalism from an ivory tower. Their remedies for capitalism show that they had no real experience or contact with the workers in the trenches.
Some reviewers have mentioned the changing of labor laws due to the Manifesto, such as child labor laws (a generally agreed good thing). I believe those laws would have changed if the Manifesto had never been written. I believe those reviewers are seeing cause and effect relationships where there is none. I believe labor leaders in non-Communist states, pushing for change in labor laws, did not need belief in Communism behind them to push for change. Even without Communism, they would have done what they did anyways because the labor leaders came up from the laboring trenches. They knew first hand the abuses going on. The writers of the Manifesto did not; their ideas were theoretical. I know my ideas, in this area, are conjectures of what would have happened without the Manifesto, without Communism; there is no way they can be proven, history cannot be rewritten.
The remedy proposed by Marx and Engels is frightening. It foreshadows exactly how Communism gave birth to totalitarian states, to Communist dictatorships. Their remedy for capitalism requires a select group of leaders (Communist elitists) to force Communism onto the populace for the good of the people. We should all be suspicious of anyone who professes an idea that is for the good of the people because it invariably is not good for the people. To paraphase Lord Acton, "power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely," and the states envisioned by the writers of the Manifesto set up perfect conditions of absolute power (for the good of the people) which in practice led to absolutely corrupt power. History has shown there has been extreme abuse by Communist leaders, who became power meglomanics, of the masses of workers in their states.
Indeed, history has repeatedly shown that the concentration of power in the hands of a select few led to abuse of power. The smaller the select, the greater the abuse. This has been true regardless of the political theories espoused by the leaders. Let this be a cautionary tale to all of us.
A Must Read.......2007-06-23
It amazes me that the effects of cold war propaganda drivel still permeates the minds of most Americans. This is easily one of the most influential works since it's publication in the 19th century. To say something along the lines that the pages should be torn out and used as paper airplanes is like saying the literary masterpieces Dickens should be used as toilet paper. Disagree with it all you want but at least acknowledge it's influence and respect it, as several reviewers have. Don't simply pigeonhole a great work due to the ignorance or American cold war dogma. If you are going to rant about this work at least get your facts straight. Hitler is not a communist..never was. As a matter of fact he hated communism just as much as most Americans do. Second, recognize communism is an ideal, just a capitalism is may I add, and there never has been a purely communistic state. If you are going to give this work a bad rating at least pretend you have read it. Most of the bad reviews are complete drivel and it is obvious the work has not been read. Give a reason why you do not like the book. Simply saying it sucks is not very insightful. Finally, do not give this a bad review simply because you cannot understand what is being said. If the merit of literary works were based upon how something is being said rather than what is being said Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Milton would not be considered literary geniuses.
A Misleading Edition.......2007-06-14
The following is the composure of the book:
pg. 1-170 Introduction by Translator
pg. 170-240 Various Prefaces of Other Editions by the Authors
pg. 240-280 The Manifesto
For those not familiar with Marx, who want to read the introduction and gain new insights--this is a brilliant setup.
For those who would rather just pay $2 for the Manifesto itself--this is disappointing.
Recommended for the student of philosophy, not the professor.
Book Description
This extensively indexed book succinctly summarizes the findings of a dozen or so of the most important works of the 20th century - from both sides of the conflict - which expose how and why a cabal of international plutocrats is planning to destroy America and any other country preventing the ultimate hegemony of their New World Order.
Customer Reviews:
I should have read the chapter titled "Let's Fix America" first.......2007-07-17
Most of us know there's something wrong with the way the "world" works. And we figure that folks with money and power will use their positions to do whatever it takes to accumulate more money and power at the expense of anyone or anything that get's in their way. Unfortunately, this book doesn't help clarify or give us tools to win the class war. If you're looking for clarity, start with Noam Chomsky's 2 CD audio "Propaganda and Control of the Public Mind." Chomsky offers a much more insightful and easier to grasp view of how the world really works.
For someone who hasn't cracked open this book yet, I would suggest that you read Chapter 12 first--"Let's Fix America". Jones has a few good ideas there, but for the most part his "tough love" ideology meshes perfectly with that of the "elites" he supposedly opposes. So it's difficult for me to assess if his work is designed to assist the working class, confuse it, or destroy it. Because destroying it is exactly what his taxation and social program ideas would do. If you examine these notions closely you can't help but notice that they sound like ideas that would be sponsored by far right-wing Think Tanks--typically funded by corporations and elite old-money families.
There is certainly a lot of info in the book. And some of it is likely correct--(Professor McCoy "Politics of Heroin" is considered a first class researcher)--with this kind of shotgun approach, it couldn't help but hit something. Unfortunately for Jones, "Report from Iron Mountain" was outed by the author, Leonard Lewin, as fictional satire--dead on satire, but fiction none the less. This leaves me with questions about the author's ability or desire to separate fact from fiction.
HOW THE WORLD REALLY WORKS.......2007-05-10
This book is a must read for those who operate "in the spirit of trust." Before reading this book, I wrote a book published in late 2001 called "Blacks In The Spider's Web" which substantially views the world as the subject book, but from a black American perspective. Although I have not read all of the books reviewed in "How The World Really Works" (I'm sure most are out of print now), my analysis of the world situation corresponds materially with Alan B. Jones' book. Much of what we see of the world is a false facade that must be pierced in order to come to the reality of the truth. "How The World Really Works" helps to pierce the veil of secrecy covering the "military industrial complex," the "Kennedy assassinations" and the "dumbing down of America," among other "unsolved mysteries."
Fixing America Means Understanding the Problems.......2007-03-18
My own review would closely mirror Robert D Steele's excellent and comprehensive analysis below. I also agree with the excellence of the additional works he recommends. I've read them all and have nothing but praise.
I might add to Robert's list a couple more titles:
1. "When Corporations Rule the World" by David C Korten ... also visit his website (Google it).
2. "The Road to Serfdom" by FA Hayak.
3. "The Money Masters" website, book and DVD... (Google it).
There are no more important subjects on earth than these. Nearly all wars, poverty, media manipulations, societal and educational problems such as drug dealing, smuggling, flesh peddling, high taxation, and... well, you name it... are rooted in the problems revealed in these works.
I strongly disagree with those who think such works are either fear-based or impractical. Nothing can be more practical than the knowledge of the secret and occult powers that are now the motivating forces shaping our modern world.
We can only remain asleep (in denial) at our grave peril, and more importantly, the peril of our children and grandchildren.
No problem can be fixed without a thorough understanding of it's root causes. Sooner or later these international money and banking problems must be fixed, and to do it properly we must fix... or rebuild... these institutions in the right ways.
The issuance of money must be taken out of the hands of private bankers and returned to the government's of "We the People" where it belongs. Only then can we stop paying exorbitant interest rates on the money that is put into circulation. Only then can we begin to use our taxes for purposes other than paying needless interest to private bankers.
Unchecked, unbalanced and unlimited power always leads to tyranny and despotism, some form of totalitarianism. Today that power is quickly becoming the materialistic "Golden Rule" - "He who has the gold, rules."
Will we let it happen here? Is it already too late to stop it?
Gaps, A Little Loose, but First-Rate Never-the-Less.......2007-01-30
I am going to put my reputation on the line, and the 850+ non-fiction books I have read that make me the #1 Amazon reviewer for non-fiction (and to my great surprise, today #49 over all fiction, movies, music, and software as well as non-fiction) for the simple reason that too many people discuss books such as this by labeling it "conspiracy theory."
It's not a conspiracy theory if it is true. I will try to be brief as well as illuminative.
First off, the author has culled a handful of books that support his case against a global financial elite, and these tend, with the exception of the Quigley book, to be left of left of center. I am however happy to add a number of books that support his essential theses that a handful of banking families control the central banks which are NOT government banks, and through loans, control governments, impoverish the middle class, and harvest profit without conscience from the "working poor."
Try these on for size:
1) Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. 85% rock solid, 15% flakey, but in my view, a perfectly reasonable slam on the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund as instruments for impoverishing lesser developed countries, not empowering them.
2) The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs, another slam on the WTO/IMF, which he relegates to third rate out-dated economist ranks, not at all focused or able to achieve what he calls "developmental economics."
3) The Global Class War by Jeff Faux, a fine discussion of how our elites bribe the elites in other countries, and the both screw the public by looting the commonwealths of gold, oil, etcetera, without returns to the people whose families have lived on top of these resources for centuries.
4) Running on Empty, by Paul Peterson of the Council of Foreign Relations (which the author hates, in my view it has two types of members--one manipulative like Henry Kissinger, another honest, like Paul Peterson), in which both the Republican and the Democratic parties are lambasted for being the ignorant slaves of the ultra-rich elites, and hopeless out of touch with reality and unable to represent We the People.
5) War is a Racket by General Smedley Butler, the highest decorated Marine of his time, who complained about being an enforcer for banks and businesses that lent money to the Third World then sent the Marines to get it back for them.
There are many other books that support this author's book reviews in great detail and from many varied perspectives. I refer you to my various lists, including the list on "Screwing the 90% that do the work."
The author has some pretensions and some slop, his arguments are not always consistent, but then neither are mine. On balance I regard this book as a first rate personal effort that should be read by every middle class person wondering, as Lou Dobbs on CNN has wondered, why we are exporting middle class jobs and importing poverty in the form of illegal aliens.
The author wraps up his varied reviews with a focus on the relationship between organized crime and the super-elite as well as their political elite (e.g. the Bush family, the best of the servant class), and on the relationship between drugs, covert operations, and Wall Street. Here again the author draws on a very tiny sub-set of books while not listing many others that support his thesis so I will mention a few here.
Having been through both Viet-Nam as a youth and the Central American Wars as an adult, I am quite certain that there are at least four different slices of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) where I served for ten years as a clandestine case officer:
A small slice does what the White House wants, including black bag jobs.
A small but more important slice does what Wall Street wants, and helps Wall Street with access to financially relevant information that the public which pays for the CIA does not get. Buzzy Krongard, until recently Executive Director of the CIA, comes to mind as the most recent leader of this section.
A larger slice, that does covert action off the books with funding from Saudi Arabia and others, sometimes called the Safari Club, sometimes having off-shoots like Ted Shackley's Southern Air Transport, and so on. This slice can provide the intersection between criminal activities, white collar crime profits, illegal White House activities, and plain profiteering.
Finally, 90% of the CIA, folks like me that did not realize they were simply going through the motions and giving the local counterintelligence service a full-time rabbit to follow while the commercial clandestine boys and girls looted the bank in bright daylight.
I have two intelligence lists that can be helpful here, but I have not focused on creating crime lists. I'll just say that between the books on the "working poor" and on being "nickeled and dimed" and books on immoral predatory capitalism and unilateral militarism of the Dick Cheney variety (I have compiled a list of 25 specific impeachable actions by Dick Cheney based on three books: One Percent Doctrine, VICE, and Crossing the Rubicon). There is a very clear-cut and direct relationship between dictators, transnational organized crime and terrorism, and Wall Street as well as the Republican and Democratic National Committees.
That reminds me: there is an entire literature on petroleum, peak oil, petrodollars, and so on. Americans have been betrayed by their government since at least 1975, and more likely, back to the 1950's when naiveté about international affairs was replaced by active complicity.
Good news. 1) Internet leveled playing field. 2) Not enough guns to kill us all. 3) A few of the really rich have realized they need to help us create infinite wealth for ourselves, or lose all they have to locusts. Read, be vocal, be active, we're going to get a grip on our commonwealth soon.
Tip of the Hat to Jere for the following added links:
When Corporations Rule the World
The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents--The Definitive Edition (The Collected Works of F. a. Hayek)
Money Masters of Our Time
See also my longer reviews of:
Rule by Secrecy: The Hidden History That Connects the Trilateral Commission, the Freemasons, and the Great Pyramids
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil
Cliff Notes for the NWO.......2006-11-18
A must read for everyone who wants to cut the strings of the puppet meisters. Stands on its own, and is a valuable reference. This book is a great launching pad for anyone becoming interested in why things are the way they are right now.
Book Description
The Worldly Philosophers is a bestselling classic that not only enables us to see more deeply into our history but helps us better understand our own times. In this seventh edition, Robert L. Heilbroner provides a new theme that connects thinkers as diverse as Adam Smith and Karl Marx. The theme is the common focus of their highly varied ideas -- namely, the search to understand how a capitalist society works. It is a focus never more needed than in this age of confusing economic headlines.
In a bold new concluding chapter entitled "The End of the Worldly Philosophy?" Heilbroner reminds us that the word "end" refers to both the purpose and limits of economics. This chapter conveys a concern that today's increasingly "scientific" economics may overlook fundamental social and political issues that are central to economics. Thus, unlike its predecessors, this new edition provides not just an indispensable illumination of our past but a call to action for our future.
Customer Reviews:
I love this book.......2007-10-15
Hi my mom purchased this book for me to read over the summer because it was a requirement for my 12th grade economics class. I really enjoyed reading this book more then I thought I would. Well that's all I have to say since my mom wanted me to write the comment because the book was for my usage.
The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-12
Whenever anyone says to me: I would like to learn something about economics, but where do I start - this is where you start. It is simple, easy, accurate, enjoyable and written for the lay reader. If you want to know more about economics this should be your first challenge. I guarantee after reading this book, you will know more and want to learn more. It could be the best introductory economics book ever. You can trust this guy.
This Classic Remains A Great Read!.......2007-09-10
I read this book 25 years ago, and recently reread parts of it. What a great book! Many of the most prominent living economists have justly heaped praise on Heilbroner's masterpiece. I can only add my hearty agreement.
Excellent compilation of short biographies of major economists.......2007-07-27
Heilbroner (H) does a very good job of providing the beginning ,novice reader in economic history and economic thought a very general summary of the major ideas of the economists he covers.He provides many interesting anecdotal comments,such as Keynes's interest in the size and shape of other people's hands,that are worth the price of purchasing the book.There are,however,some major analytic gaps in H's coverage.I will cover two of these below.
The first major omission occurs on p.68, in the chapter covering Adam Smith,on Smith's view of the role of government in a capitalist economy.Smith spends pp.734-741 of the Wealth of Nations[Modern Library(Cannan)edition] alerting the reader to the existence of a major undepletable,detrimental externality ,with major negative impacts, that resulted from the operation of the Invisible Hand (comparative advantage + division of labor + economic self interest).These negative impacts affect all aspects of the workers' lives-social,political,moral or ethical,intellectual,and martial.It is not just a case of "...the stultifying effect of mass production..." leading to a " ...decline in manly virtues."(Heilbroner,p.68).On pp.9-10 of the WN,Smith discussed the significant role of the worker in providing a continuing series of marginal improvements in the workings of the machinery used in the production process.All such contributions come to a complete stop if the externality problem is not dealt with because the result will be "...the almost complete corruption and degeneracy of the great body of the people".(Smith,p.734).The work force will not be able to make any contribution to the political decision making process of the country.Conflicts will break out both within the family and between families.Smith includes in his solution,which is that general education and religious instruction be provided for all even if they are unable to afford it,the requirement that the workers be taught the basics(reading,writing,and arithmetic) plus geometry and mechanics.The middle class is to also be taught philosophy and science.
The second omission in Heilbroner concerns the discussion of Keynes's GT fiscal policies on pp.274-279.H does not make it clear that Keynes is opposed to cutting income taxes in order to stimulate private consumption spending.Keynes's plan is to seperate the budget into a current and a capital account.The capital account will include borrowed funds(loan expenditure) to finance long run spending on infreastructure projects and public goods that will pay for themselves in the long run.The p.131 quote given by H about the government burying bank notes in abandoned mines for private enterprise to dig up from the GT is misleading.
If I could give 10 stars I would.......2007-07-03
Best book I've read in a long time! I have exams in economics, and usually I read some light "for fun" books during exam times in order to relax. This is one of those books, and I'm learning something!!! Excellent writer!
Customer Reviews:
Classic..........2007-01-12
If you are a) an undergrad. in sociology, economy, or political science, you must have this for grad. school; b) a grad. student in sociology and unsure of its application, what theory is, or what the masters talked about, you must have it; and c) a theory freak like myself, a must for your collection (but you already knew that!). This book is a classic in sociology, and while Durkheim recanted much of what he said later in his career, his ecological model for the evolution of society is still relevant today. Furthermore, his discussion of the integrative effects of the Division of Labor are unmatched, and while this mechanism is probably not the only one of its kind, it is still important especially in a postindustrial society that is increasingly compartementalized...
The starting point.......2002-11-10
A classic in many ways, the Division of Labor is a great starting point for sociology - not because it's terribly sexy or interesting or even correct, but because it begins to lay out what sociology can do.
A founding block of Sociological Theory.......2000-05-25
... The Halls translation is quite a good one. If we examine the Halls text and compare it to the "revisions" that the reviewer has posed, we find that the differences are not merely aesthetic, they are substantive. They change the meaning of the sentence, and therefore the nature and meaning of Durkheim's argument.
I think that this Durkheim's best work. As a warning, it is not easy; perhaps this is where the difficulty with the translation lies. But for anyone interested in sociological theory, this book is essential reading. The translation is the best out there.
Comment.......1999-09-11
... The Coser edition of THE DIVISION OF LABOUR is commonly regarded as the best english translation edition.
An important work, marred by an inept translation........1999-02-09
Durkheim's book must not be a big seller. This would explain why a new, better translation hasn't appeared. This present translation is, to put it bluntly, horrible. This is really a shame, as Durkheim's thesis is quite compelling (if not flawed).
On average, each page of text is missing about two dozen commas.
One example:
"Without the necessary act of satisfaction[,] what is called the moral consciousness could not be preserved."
Then there are the pedantic (and barely readable) constructions such as the following.
Halls's version:
"By this is explained why some acts have so frequently been held to be criminal..."
Revised:
"This explains why some acts have so frequently been held to be criminal..."?
Halls's version:
"Undoubtedly most of these are not harmful, for if they were, in such conditions the individual could not live."
Revised:
"Undoubtedly, most of these are not harmful; if they were, the individual could not live."
Finally, there are sentences that are so obfuscatory, I don't know how to fix them:
"In both cases the force shocked by the crime and that rejects it is thus the same." (I'm not kidding, this is one of Halls's actual sentences.)
Average customer rating:
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Strategies of Economic Order: German Economic Discourse, 17501950 (Ideas in Context)
Keith Tribe
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521462916 |
Book Description
This book provides an overview of two hundred years of German economic thought from the Steetswissenschaften of the eighteenth century to National Socialism and the Social Market. Whereas Classical Economics emphasized value, distribution and production, German economic thought had a long-running tradition of human need and the varying conditions for order. By taking this latter perspective, the usual contrast of market and planning approaches to economic organization is subsumed by an approach that focuses on the construction of order in economic processes.
Book Description
A rich, revealing history of the economic and political events that have shaped our time.
International trade at unprecedented levels, millions of people migrating yearly in search of jobs, the world's economies more open to one another than ever before....Such was the global economy in 1900. Then as now, many people considered globalization to be inevitable and irreversible. Yet the entire edifice collapsed in a few months in 1914.
Globalization is a choice, not a fact. It is a result of policy decisions and the politics that shape them. Jeffry A. Frieden's insightful history explores the golden age of globalization during the early years of the twentieth century, its swift collapse in the crises of 1914-45, the divisions of the Cold War world, and the turn again toward global integration at the end of the century. His history is full of character and event, as entertaining as it is enlightening. It deepens our understanding of the century just past and sheds light on our current situation.
Customer Reviews:
HAPHAZARD NARRATIVE; AUTHOR HAS VERY WEAK UNDERSTANDING OF SUBJECT MATTER.......2007-06-21
Of all the many books that have come out in recent years about global capitalism, finance and economics, this is certainly the worst. The author, a professor of government at Harvard, professes to specialize in international monetary history, but is really what his tenure title says he is, a professor of International Peace. He appears to be trying to reinvent his career by tackling the subject of capitalism but thoroughly lacks understanding of the subject matter, as made evident by his book.
1. The author makes the same mistake that virtually all political science professors do when they write about capitalism: he glorifies the gold standard, he glorifies the Rothschilds and glorifies everything that had nothing to do with the emergence of twentieth century capitalism. The author is using his expertise in international relations to analyze a subject that is really never about governments, or grand alliances or fancy bankers. He thus fails to root the story in the advent of technology, or of business procedures or of the individual investor, but focuses instead of John Foster Dulles and Dean Acheson and Lord Halifax.
2. Wherever the subject matter is strong, the book still fails badly. It does so because political economy is better analyzed by Robert Gilpin and others, whose books are mandatory reading and well written and which do not pretend to sell that subject matter as a study of capitalism.
3. The book's sections are surprisingly badly arranged. Sometimes one feels the author may have a method to the madness but I doubt it after having read it. It is certainly not thematic, or designed to trigger thought or chronological.
4. The book refers to a poem only twice in the 500 pages and it is about the King of Ghana! I mean a professor at Harvard should surely know how to maintain balance in his subject matter. Is that the one poem he could find worth including?
5. Stunning is the lack of understanding of the issues. He describes Britain as fully supportive of free trade mid-19th century but fails to consider how colonialism could be a form of free trade. He describes China Turkey and India as the only failures of the early 20th century without making the same connection with colonialism.
6. Worse is his understanding of the gold standard. He never mentions that that relic was responsible for more misery than anything other than world wars. He fails to consider that since the gold standard was weakened in the Forties, there have been NO PANICS RAVAGING SOCIETY. He is a gold bug.
7. He repeats William Bryan's Cross of Gold speech twice in the narrative with no suggestion that he is even aware his haphazard narrative is repeating the same quote. He also fails to mention that William Bryan was not buried in the election of 1896 but actually came to dominate the 20th century, what with unionism, minimum wages, no gold standard, empowerment of the individual investor and every other idea that Bryan first espoused. TR's and FDR's reforms were nothing if not Bryanism.
8. Why would a book mention so much about Rothschild's and their family in the US without mentioning Jacob Schiff, or detailing JP Morgan, or RObert Lehman or Albert Gordon. I mean the author simply has no balance on the subject matter because he knows so little about it.
9. Finally, it is not clear what Jeffrey Frieden is doing at Harvard. Such poorly researched fare is common to COlumbia Business School and its Dean Glenn Hubbard, or to the Hoover Institution or some place like that. Harvard on the other hand puts out more balanced and far more thoughtful pieces.
BAD BOOK THAT MUST BE AVOIDED.
Almost tempted to give it a miss.......2007-04-23
I was almost tempted to give the book a miss after seeing the high ratings that were given by reviewers that seemed to be anti-globalizationists (what an awkward term!)
However, I came across the book at my library and gave it a chance, and I was not disappointed. It is a book that does a creditable job of summing up the ups and downs of the world economy over the past hundred years and more. And it also does a fairly good job of raising some issues and problems with the world economic system, and how the system had evolved to meet those issues and problems. On the whole, I think it's a balanced book, pointing out the critical need for free and integrated markets to raising millions in the world out of poverty, as well as some of the problems facing them.
The only reason why I gave the book a four rather than a five is that it is not an easy read, and it is best read with some thought and analysis on the reader's part. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not something for everyone.
By the way, do ignore those reviews that pretend to tell you what the author was saying in his book. I'm not sure that he's actually saying what they say he is saying.
Read the book for yourself. It's worth the time and effort.
Globalization 2.0.......2006-07-12
Jeffrey Frieden, a Harvard professor specializing in international trade and finance, has written a masterly and comprehensive history of capitalism from 1870 to the present. His history of globalization reminds us that it is not a recent develpment and that its current success is not guaranteed.
The first era of globalization (1870 to 1914) had many of the same characteristics as today's. There was an unprecedented cross-border movement of goods, capital, and labor. (Labor more so in the first era.) During these years huge amounts of capital moved overseas to America, Canada, and Argentina mainly due to the reduced costs of communication and transportation. The technologies driving this globalization were the telegraph and railroads. It was also facilitated by the fact that most currencies were convertible to gold. The investment in the Americas was also followed by a huge immigrant population. In these years, America, Canada, and Argentina had much larger immmigrant populations at the turn of the 20th century than today.
The main thing that distinguishes the present globalization from the first is what happened in between. After the Great Depression and World War II remedies were put into place to mitigate the damaging effects of these economic and social catastrophes. Social benefits such as unions, minimum wage, healthcare and pensions were established as safety nets. In the era between the two globalizations when economies were mostly national the safety nets were part of the social contract between capital and labor.
In 1980, when our current era of globalization begins, capital began to move overseas again in order to find countries with lower labor and social costs. This time, however, labor did not follow. The industrialized countries now have large middle classes with social benefits promised who are not certain about how they are going to be paid. This is causing many in the industrialized world to have second thoughts about our current phase of globalization.
Frieden has a guarded optimism about global capitalism and thinks it is still the best system for distributing wealth. Yet, his last chapter "Global Capitalism Troubled" points to some more clouds on the horizon. There seems to be a growing gap between those who control capital and those who work for a living. People understand that globalization is inevitable but they want a new set of rules to address the growing inequalities.
Frieden is a cheerleader for a more equitable capitalism that can deliver both social benefits and robust economic growth.
Bottom Line: Unfettered Capitalism is Destructive, Need Government.......2006-06-27
I read books in groups, and bought this one along with David Walsh's "Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations" which I recommend above this one is you are only buying one book. I also read and have reviewed "Global Class Wars" as well as all other books I recommend below.
Although I was less interested in the history, which is very well documented and clearly explained, and more in the lessons for the future, I found two clear bottom lines in this book that are supported by its extensive research:
1) Open societies and open democracies generate more money and more opportunity and more innovation than closed or failed societies; and
2) Keynes was right, there is an urgent vital role for government to play in addressing the social networks, including education, transportation, rules of commerce, and so on, that allow capitalism to work.
The author distinguishes between individual, cooperative, and competitive capitalism, and I found validation in this book for my concept of communal capitalism, a capitalism that is guided by government in avoiding the exportation of jobs, the importation of poverty, and the impoverishment of the middle class.
Unlike David Walsh's book, this book has more of a focus on what is moral and pragmatic, and so I recommend William Greider's "The Soul of Capitalism" as well as John Perkins "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man."
I have a very strong feeling from this book and others, that the era of "out of control" capitalism is drawing to an end. We may even see the end of the corporation as a separate legal personality in the next 12 years. The transparency of information that is available when people attach themselves leech-like to a corporation and hold it accountable (see my review of "No Logo") is creating a powerful antidote against the Enrons and Exxons and Wal-Marts of the world who bribe elites and screw over the publics on both ends. I also see Wall Street losing its ability to "explode the client" (see my review of "Liar's Poker"). A great deal of good will be done in the next quarter century, and it will come from a combination of good government and educated engaged citizens working together across all boundaries.
Very Pleasing to Read (Even for a Proletariat like Me).......2006-06-25
I read this book for a graduate-level economics course. It's not an "Econ for Dummys" book, but it really enightens the reader about the history of economics in the 20th Century. It's smart and straight-forward. The author does not interject his personal perspectives, which is nice. He just puts it out there. A definite must-read for those entering the field of economics/history.
Book Description
Capital, one of Marx's major and most influential works, was the product of thirty years close study of the capitalist mode of production in England, the most advanced industrial society of his day. This new translation of Volume One, the only volume to be completed and edited by Marx himself, avoids some of the mistakes that have marred earlier versions and seeks to do justice to the literary qualities of the work. The introduction is by Ernest Mandel, author of Late Capitalism, one of the only comprehensive attempts to develop the theoretical legacy of Capital.
Customer Reviews:
Doors of Perception.......2007-01-24
If :
- Your mum has taught you lots of valuable things (eat your vegetables, be nice to old people and little dogs, don't be late to school, keep a clean nose) but she was never really able to explain why you had to WORK for a living - instead of, you know, just living;
- Your teachers packed your head full with all kinds of useful knowledge (about prepositions and adverbs, mineralogy and astrophysics, the reproductive organs of plants, x+2-y=0) but they never told you how exactly PROFITS are made - and why anybody would want to make them anyway;
- Your friends and lovers can spend hours yakking about various interesting topics (the latest music machine, videogames, designer shoes, imitation leather sofas, blockbuster movies, pink underwear and cherry flavoured bubble-gum) but they call you a bore and a nitpick whenever you wonder why you're all surrounded by so many COMMODITIES and publicity ads promising you bigger, better and faster useless things.
- You often have the impression that some greater truth is lacking in your life (and you've tried all the legal/illegal drugs, exciting TV shows, gurus and psychoanalysts, help-yourself books and bestsellers about kid sorcerers)...
...Then the time may have come to have a long talk with good old Uncle Karl - the black sheep of the social sciences, the guy nobody likes to mention at social occasions (except in the form of a joke: "have you heard the one about Karl Marx in Las Vegas?"), the most misquoted and misinterpreted modern thinker.
In "Capital", he kindly invites you to break on through to the other side (that's how countercultural he was) and check out what's really happening behind the glitzy appearances of everyday life. You don't even have to be a genius to understand him (it will be enough if you can count to ten without choking). And you might be surprised about how obvious some things will seem after he explains to you about the cage you're sitting in.
Of course, mum will probably be broken-hearted and fear that you'll join the next anarcho-pinko-terrorist organization down the block. Your teachers might refer to a vast list of successful anti-Marx books and charity organizations. And your friends and lovers will find you an even greater bore than before.
Fascinating, Intelligent, and Obsolete........2005-11-23
"When Volume 1 of Capital was first published, capitalist industry, though predominant in a few Western European countries, still appeared as an isolated island circled by a sea of independent farmers and handicraftsmen which covered the whole world, including the greater part even of Europe," writes Ernest Mandel in his introduction to 'Capital'.
How did we advance to the present day?
An *economic* text, this book is considerably distinct from much of Marx's preceding output. Capital stands a work of theoretical economics similar to the output of David Ricardo in many ways -- calls for action, the nature of the state, and philosophical concepts are given little treatment throughout the 2,500 pages. Marx *did* write about ideas like commodity production, use-values and exchange-values, theories of surplus-value, crisis theory, organic and technical compositions of capital, the transformation problem, changes in the rates of profit, and much more. It is an analysis of *capital*, and hence, *capitalism.* There is little information about the mechanics of a post-capitalist society. After investing the time to read it, readers will be baffled when critics argue "50 bujillion people DIED as a result of 'Capital!!!'" (Marx died in 1883) -- "therefore Marx is wrong!" To be objective, a thinker can imagine the absurdity of blaming World War One, slavery in America, and imperialism on 'The Wealth of Nations'.
The volumes of this massive economic text were published successively in 1867, 1885, and 1894. Most economists feel marginalism has rendered it obsolete. At the end of the 19th century, Bohm-Bawerk argued since production occurs in a roundabout way, part of the product Marx attributed to workers needs to be employed to finance the roundaboutness. Workers would obtain the whole of what the produced only if production was instantaneous; as a result, interest must be paid no matter who owned the capital.
This is a brilliant work. The tough part is understanding the meaning of Marx's terms, which was especially difficult for me, learning the neo-classical viewpoint first. The first chapters took a few days to understand with confidence. After that, the sheer length of the text is formidable, though rewarding and absolutely fascinating.
please read the book before reviewing it!.......2005-06-29
Reading the "reviews" of Capital here on Amazon.com, a person who has read the book can see that most "reviewers" have not even troubled themselves read the book! Instead of taking the time and energy to plow through this work, many would rather get on a soap box and ramble on about their own views thereby "reviewing" the work.
I read the entire book from cover to cover. Not an easy task. It took me more than a year with persistence! But I did it.
Socialism is not mentioned once the the actual work itself. (Of course it is mentioned in the 87 page Introduction which some of the "reviewers" might have bothered to skim through!)
What is the name of the book? Capital! Not Communism or Socialism! One who has bothered to read this long book knows that the book has nothing to do with Communism. The book was supposed to form a scientific explanation of what the Capitalist mode of production was and how it formed and its' inner workings. Marx felt that after writing the pamphlet Manifesto of 1848, he owed it to the world tho explain what Capitalism was. It is a microscopic examination of the capitalist mode of production in mid-nineteenth century England. Granted that things have changed since 1850 England, the basic core of Capitalism hasn't changed.
The man was brilliant, he obviously spent a lot of time formulating an understanding of what Capitalism is. It was an eye opener for me into what Capitalism really is. It was stimulating to see how Marx in the work slowly but surely synthesizes his successive points one by one thereby building a model of the Capitalist mode of production for one to examine.
My only complaint was that it was too long. He could have said what he had to say in 200 pages rather than 800.
Seeing in the Fifth Dimension.......2004-06-18
I think it was the poor French philosopher Althusser who claimed that Marx had discovered a new continent of thought called "history" equivalent to the continents of thought discovered by Pythagoras (geometry) and Aristotle (science). I would use a different metaphor. It is as if Marx invented a pair of x-ray glasses that allows you the viewer to see the exploitation hidden in every commodity, no matter how beautifully it is packaged. I guess the only book it is really comparable to would be the Bible, edited and created in the year 207 by the North African Roman citizen Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus. On the narrative level the books are quite opposite. The one starts with a single savior who comes to save the world, but ends up being exploited, abused and killed, thus needing saving, the other starts with a class that is exploited, abused and killed, but ends up saving the world. Of the two, Marx is definitely the more optimistic view. But if we could resurrect Marx as we resurrected Jesus, would he still have his optimism?
How Many Stars Do You Give to a Discredited Classic?.......2004-04-12
To tell the truth, I haven't read too much of Capital since I was assigned sections of it in a college course years ago. However, the opportunity to once again match wits with Amazon reviewer Mr. Walt Bryars, an Austro-feminist-scholastic studying economics in Tampa, Florida, was just too tempting to resist. His recent "review" of Capital can be found below (I've put the word in quotes since it isn't clear whether or not Mr. Bryars has actually read Capital, though he certainly hates it). Mr. Bryars' views are clearly stated therein but his suggestion that Marx lived in the 18th century is a bit off. News flash, Mr. Bryars: the 1800s were the 19th century, not the 18th century.
Regarding Capital, it was a towering achievement of 19th century thought. However, like the Wealth of Nations (written in the 18th century -- i.e., the 1700s) and other economics classics, Capital is mostly of historical interest today. The book can be thought of, at least in part, as an unintentional reductio ad absurdum of the labor theory of value which was bequeathed to Marx by Classical economists such as Adam Smith. Marx's tireless working out of the ramifications of this theory led him to embrace now-discredited conclusions about the declining rate of profit and the immiseration of the proletariat. Marx was wrong, in other words, about some of the central parts of his economic system.
On the other hand, there's no doubt that he was a genius of the first rank. To my knowledge, Marx was the first economist to seriously take up issues like underconsumption, boom-and-bust cycles, and the technology-driven growth of large business firms -- issues that only entered mainstream economic discussion decades later in the 20th century. (I'll defer to Mr. Bryars on the history here, since it's possible that Spanish Dominicans wrote about the growth of large corporations in the 17th century -- i.e., the 1600s.)
Since Capital is incredibly long and frequently obscure, readers interested in contemporary Marxist economic thought might be better off reading something by Paul Sweezy or Ben Fine. And readers looking for a readable, short, balanced, and easy-on-the brain overview of the totality of Marx's thought -- he was a philosopher and political thinker as well as an economist -- should consult Why Read Marx Today? by Jonathan Wolff.
Book Description
The Seventh Edition of THE EVOLUTION OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT presents the history of economics and the philosophies that drive the economic way of thinking. It stresses the importance of understanding contemporary economics, by grasping new ideas, evidence, problems and values that call for reconsideration of basic disputes and major contributions of the past. The textbook explains the ideas of the great economic thinkers and their logical connections to the world of today and tomorrow. Updated pedagogical features provide clear insight into issues like antitrust perspectives and game theory. Introducing ideas like Robert Solow's pioneering model to discuss recent renewed emphasis on growth theory and technological change, the author sheds historical light on modern debates and thoughts. Stanley Brue and Randy Grant carry on the legacy of Jacob Oser, the book's creator, by offering a scholarly and timely presentation of the history of economic thought.
Amazon.com
Over 150 years ago, Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle dubbed economics the "dismal science." But it certainly doesn't seem that way in the skillful hands of Todd G. Buchholz, author of New Ideas from Dead Economists. In this revised edition of a book first published in 1989, economics is accessible, relevant, and fascinating. It's even fun--for example, when he uses the cast of Gilligan's Island and Henny Youngman jokes to explain complex economic theories. "Why not have the last laugh on Carlyle by using the dead economists themselves to reverse their bad reputations and to teach the lessons they left to us?"
Buchholz surveys and critiques economic thought from Adam Smith's invisible hand of the 18th century to the depression-fighting ideas of the Keynesians and money-supply concepts of the 20th-century monetarists. He also relates classic economic principles to such modern-day events as the fall of communism, the Asian financial meltdown, and global warming. Buchholz includes plenty of anecdotes about the lives of the great economists: Karl Marx, for instance, was an unkempt slob; David Ricardo, the early-19th-century English politician and economist, was among the rare economists to get rich trading stocks; and Maynard Keynes was so homely his friends called him "Snout." Here's a lively and authoritative read for those interested in the past, present, and future of economics. --Dan Ring
Book Description
Featuring brand new sections on the remarkable shifts in the world economy, this economic study is a relevant, entertaining, and fascinating guide for those seeking both a solid lesson on the development of economic theory throughout the past two hundred years and a balanced perspective of our current economic state on the brink of the millennium. By applying age-old economic theories to contemporary issues, Todd Buchholz helps readers to see how the thoughts and writings of the great economists of the past have vital relevance to the dilemmas affecting all our lives today.
Customer Reviews:
Much humor from a "dismal scientist".......2007-08-26
Luckily, economics got that "dismal science" label a long time ago, because this book is quite the opposite. Written in both lively style and learned content, the reader will want to go through each chapter wondering "who's next on the chopping block?" And who would have expected to find this gem in a normally dry-sounding field (economics), or a self-serving field (biography). Lest anyone be turned off by the relatively un-recent publication date (1989), the author has updates covering fairly recent events.
This book adds a nice thought just by itself: humor and economists. Marx and laughter. Adam Smith and mirth, etcetera. The story covers the really big names in the field in chronological order, and you just know that each personality coming up will get the same fair treatment: a description of the old economists' philosophies and systems, the good parts, the bad parts, the dumb parts, and what they said about each other. At the end, just as we figure out what the author REALLY thinks is the best economic structure, we find the answer is more along the line, "it depends." How can you not like a work like this!
Dead economists. Some books are not that good, but have a great title (e.g., "Blink" or "Feel the Fear but Do It Anyway"). Many, many are the other way around, such as "Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire." "Dead Economists" is both. Do read it.
Best book on economics I've ever read.......2007-05-21
I try to buy all of my books on Amazon due to the low prices, but this is one book that I picked up at a local chain and just couldn't put down. All of the truly great economic thinkers are profiled in depth here; their lives and their ideas. The interesting thing is that the ideas of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and John Stuart Mill are timeless - they still pan out to this day - whereas the "ideas" of moribund "thinkers" like the cultists von Mises, Rand, and Rothbard were outdated before they were conceived. But it's not just classical economists who are profiled here - Malthus, Keynes, and even Marx are given a fair shake - and to be truthful, each and every one of them (Marx included) has an interesting perspective that you will be smarter for having considered (and in his case, hopefully rejected). All in all, I highly recommend this book for anyone who believes in true capitalism, not the anarchist utopianism of the Libertarian Party or the corporate cronyism of the modern GOP. The new mantra should be, "What would Adam Smith do?"
A Mixed Bag.......2006-12-06
This books generally delivers what it promises, a review of major thoughts from economists evaluated (somewhat) in a modern context. If that's what you are looking for, it's probably worth reading. However I had three problems with the book. First, he says some incredibly, bizarrely wrong things (quantum mechanics is not a hard science, the internet was invented by private industry, California may float away into the ocean). Even though they are topics outside of economics, they made me generally suspicious of his knowledge. Second, from some of his comments it is clear his writing has a political/philosophical bias but he never comes out and states what it is. Since I'm not an economist (after all, that's why I'm reading this book), it seems impossible to figure out what his bias is and how to correct for it. Third, perhaps a minor point, but he keeps drifting slightly off-topic in order to include a cute saying or clever remark. I mostly found this annoying, but other readers might find it helps keep the book light and fun.
Great Title -- Trivial Contents.......2006-11-23
When I first saw this book, I thought this sounds really interesting. It is, if you like to read trivia about economists, most of whom are dead. There are loose connections made to miscellaneous events in modern times, but the bulk of the book combines jokes that have been around for decades (as dead as the economists) with mini-biographies more suited to a fan magazine, focusing on John Stuart Mill's dysfunctional childhood, John Maynard Keynes' marriage to a ballerina, John Kenneth Galbraith's height, Thorstein Veblen's odd mode of dress and his lecture on cannibalism, and similar delicacies.
My impression is that the author found no use for this information when he was studying economics, but hated to throw out his boxes of notes. So he came up with a great, if dishonest, title and packaged the miscellany for sale. If you have no real interest in economics, but love gossip columns and want to sound like you know something about famous economists, this is the book for you.
A pretty good introduction to economic theory.......2006-09-15
This book would make an excellent pre-100 level textbook for students interested in economics. Buchholz covers all major economic theories and their proponents from Adam Smith's Invisible Hand to the most currently vocal Rational Expectations theory. The detail never gets so deep as to actually present charts and diagrams, but is solid enough that the reader comes away with a general understanding of each theory.
The book suffers a little in the beginning as Buchholz seems uncomfortable simply presenting the dry facts and ends up regaling the reader with anecdotes and economist in-jokes that may play in the classroom but fall flat in textual form.
Buchholz really hits his stride when he starts talking about Keynes, though. Perhaps it is the benefit of having multiple economic theories at odds with each other by the early 20th century that make writing about it so easy. Whatever the case, his coverage from Keynes to the modern day is exceptionally well done. Focusing less on the character of the men and more on the value of their theories, Buchholz clearly describes Keynesian, Monetary, and Rational economic theories. He proceeds to play them off each other to the delight of the reader. Where the first part of the book failed to be dynamic, the latter half is exceedingly entertaining and informative.
The problem is that I'm not interested to know that Smith was a klutz or that Malthus was well-polished. Those things are only used by Buchholz to bring life to these dead economists. He could have brought them more to life with more focus on what keeps them alive than the things buried with them.
I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in getting an overview of economic thought. It will introduce you to just about all the important economic theories that have made an impact as well as the latest 'cutting edge' theories that present alternatives to the existing body of work. I hope to find a book that can replicate Buchholz's success with the modern era theories for those economists that I feel he short-shrifted in this one.
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- The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
- The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
- Theogony, Works and Days (Oxford World's Classics)
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