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The Post-American World (Hardcover)
by Fareed Zakaria
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Author: Fareed Zakaria
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Pub. in: May, 2008
ISBN: 039306235X
Pages: 288
Measurements: 9.6 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA01492
Other information: 978-0393062359
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- MSL Picks -
Zakaria's book hits the nail on the head with his research and analysis of the current global power struggle and the future in which we are all rapidly entering. Unlike many people, however, Zakaria is still fairly bullish on the United States and its place in the world, although he rightfully acknowledges the many challenges the country faces presently. The first third of the book focuses on the Western World and how Britain and the U.S. have dominated and shaped the global order in the past two centuries. He follows with a chapter on China, which he dubs the Challenger. Other countries are mentioned, but China takes up most of the author's ideas when thinking of the impending post-American world. Of course the author's native land of India receives its appropriate analysis as well and is referred to as the ally of the U.S. Zakaria also thoughtfully discusses similarities between the rise, peak and decline of Britain and the U.S., which makes for interesting reading.
One point the author emphasizes is that unlike much of Europe and Japan, immigration appears to be a key factor for the U.S. in saving it from declining populations and shortage of labor. Immigrants have always provided the United States with economic growth and innovation, and the future will be no different. In fact, immigration must continue for the U.S. to remain where it is today in the years to come. In a world where almost anyone can now obtain the know how and access to goods and services in an effort to become more competitive, more innovative and harder working, staying on top of the world will become exceedingly more difficult, even for the United States. If we are to do it as an American people, changes are needed.Understanding this book is an excellent starting place. (From quoting a guest reviewer, USA )
Target readers:
political and business leaders
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Fareed Zakaria is the editor of Newsweek International and writes a weekly column on international affairs. His previous book was the New York Times bestseller The Future of Freedom. He lives in New York City.
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From publisher
One of our most distinguished thinkers argues that the "rise of the rest" is the great story of our time.
"This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else." So begins Fareed Zakaria's important new work on the era we are now entering. Following on the success of his best-selling The Future of Freedom, Zakaria describes with equal prescience a world in which the United States will no longer dominate the global economy, orchestrate geopolitics, or overwhelm cultures. He sees the "rise of the rest"-the growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, and many others-as the great story of our time, and one that will reshape the world. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, largest-selling movies, and most advanced cell phones are all being built outside the United States. This economic growth is producing political confidence, national pride, and potentially international problems. How should the United States understand and thrive in this rapidly changing international climate? What does it mean to live in a truly global era? Zakaria answers these questions with his customary lucidity, insight, and imagination.
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From The Washington Post (MSL quote), USA
<2008-09-23 00:00>
After the Iraq war, Fareed Zakaria argued in his Newsweek column that the world's new organizing principle was pro- or anti-Americanism. But as the Iraq muddle drags on and China rises, the larger story of the post-Cold War era has come into sharp relief: We are not the center of the universe. It matters less that particular countries are pro- or anti-American than that the world is increasingly non-American. We need to get over ourselves.
Zakaria's The Post-American World is about the "rise of the rest," a catchy phrase from one of the most widely cited writers on foreign affairs. His prism is correct: We should focus more on the "rest," even if America is still the premier superpower. But within this broad approach, Zakaria leaves policy-makers to figure out how to rank challenges and restore U.S. legitimacy.
Zakaria zooms in on Asia, especially India and China, which he uses as proxies for "the rest." The first third of the book sets out his thesis - "For the first time ever, we are witnessing genuinely global growth" - and the next third describes how China's economy has doubled every eight years and how India may have the world's third largest economy by 2040.
This year has brought a flood of books on Asia's rise, including Bill Emmott's Rivals and Kishore Mahbubani's The New Asian Hemisphere. For the most part, they embody the "world is flat" thesis - lots of economic statistics, little geography. But geopolitics is about more than growth rates. It matters that China borders a dozen more countries than India does, isn't hemmed in by a vast ocean and the world's tallest mountains, has a loyal diaspora twice the size of India's and enjoys a head start in Asian and African marketplaces. Zakaria's chapters on China and India, though of equal length, should not connote equivalency, and all "the rest" cannot be happily lumped together. Does China's example tell us what has gone wrong in Venezuela and Pakistan, and could go wrong in Egypt and Indonesia?
Ironically, the final third of The Post-American World, which focuses on us rather than on "the rest," is the strongest. Zakaria argues that America's world-beating economic vibrancy co-exists with a dysfunctional political system. "A 'can-do' country is now saddled with a 'do-nothing' political process, designed for partisan battle rather than problem solving," he writes. That makes it hard to devise a grand strategy, and Zakaria offers just a few "simple guidelines" on the need to set priorities, build global rules and be flexible. But in this non-American world, it may be too late to restore U.S. leadership. "The rest" is moving on.
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From Publishers Weekly (MSL quote), USA
<2008-09-23 00:00>
Starred Review. When a book proclaims that it is not about the decline of America but the rise of everyone else, readers might expect another diatribe about our dismal post-9/11 world. They are in for a pleasant surprise as Newsweek editor and popular pundit Zakaria (The Future of Freedom) delivers a stimulating, largely optimistic forecast of where the 21st century is heading. We are living in a peaceful era, he maintains; world violence peaked around 1990 and has plummeted to a record low. Burgeoning prosperity has spread to the developing world, raising standards of living in Brazil, India, China and Indonesia. Twenty years ago China discarded Soviet economics but not its politics, leading to a wildly effective, top-down, scorched-earth boom. Its political antithesis, India, also prospers while remaining a chaotic, inefficient democracy, as Indian elected officials are (generally) loathe to use the brutally efficient tactics that are the staple of Chinese governance. Paradoxically, India's greatest asset is its relative stability in the region; its officials take an unruly population for granted, while dissent produces paranoia in Chinese leaders. Zakaria predicts that despite its record of recent blunders at home and abroad, America will stay strong, buoyed by a stellar educational system and the influx of young immigrants, who give the U.S. a more youthful demographic than Europe and much of Asia whose workers support an increasing population of unproductive elderly. A lucid, thought-provoking appraisal of world affairs, this book will engage readers on both sides of the political spectrum. |
Walter Isaacson(MSL quote), USA
<2008-09-23 00:00>
A definitive handbook for political and business leaders who want to succeed in a global era. |
From a guest reviewer (MSL quote), USA
<2008-09-23 00:00>
The author presents a thoughtful analysis of our changing world. His wide ranging background adds depth to his discussion particulary in the the areas of the recent rapid changes in India and China that have so quickly impacted America. His advice to get used to our new position in the global market and social structure makes a whole lot of sense.
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