Rational Action

I didn’t make it through the whole book, but here is my review of Jagdish Bhagwati’s In Defense of Globalization. (Yes. I wrote it for class. Did you honestly think I’d pick up a book, read it, and then review it all out of the goodness of my heart?) It lacks of bit of nuance, and I did have some problems with a few of Bhagwati’s arguments. He sure doesn’t write as well as PK does, but I’ll excuse him on that, because PK originally studied under him…

So here is the review:

In an online article written nearly ten years ago, Paul Krugman explains elegantly the problem faced by those economists who seek to defend globalization: while prominent policymakers appeal to the public by openly disdaining arcane mathematical theory, the “important ideas [of economics] are crystal clear if you can stand algebra, and very difficult to grasp if you can’t. International trade…happens to be a subject in which a page or two of algebra and diagrams is worth 10 volumes of mere words.â€? In Defense of Globalization, the latest book by Columbia economist Jagdish Bhagwati, seeks to provide a contemporary literary translation of globalization’s two pages of algebra. While his desire to appeal to the MTV generation is at times far too apparent, Bhagwati generally succeeds in utilizing a format dominated by globalization opponents to defend his position.

Bhagwati is at his most successful when taking on the anti-globalization response to welfare and social issues. He convinces because he makes clear at every juncture that those whom he criticizes share with him similar noble goals; along with the South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS), Bhagwati would like to end child labor, and just as the NGO Women’s Choice wants to see women empowered, so too does Bhagwati. Since these organizations prescribe the antithesis of Bhagwati’s policies, the conversation becomes one not of ends but of means – In Defense of Globalization presents a vastly different procedure for achieving the same result sought by these NGO’s. Bhagwati’s arguments, founded on compelling uses of statistics and observations, stick because they show how often many anti-globalization groups impede the achievement of their own objectives.

While the posturing of anti-globalization groups has created a powerful image of the globalizer-as-neocolonist, Bhagwati’s Indian heritage and academic career present stubborn challenges to this stereotype. Rather than seeking to control underdeveloped nations from afar, one senses that Bhagwati would like nothing more than to see realized the betterment of the living standards of the world’s poor. As In Defense of Globalization shows, often the most ardent supporters of protectionism are CEO’s and well-connected businessmen; these powerful members of the anti-globalization movement have little interest in the poor but every desire to help themselves.

Bhagwati also scores points by showing how even supposedly disinterested anti-globalization groups may end up ignoring the unique cultures and societies of the people whom they intend to help. He shows, for example, how a sociologist concerned with the growing number of female migrant workers who must leave the care of their children to extended family members “seems to transfer to the migrant workers the values of her own culture� (77): used to the nuclear-family-centric West, she is unaware that families in underdeveloped nations tend to rely on aunts, uncles, and grandparents for child-rearing. Bhagwati’s experience allows him to reveal that the most imperialistic groups are often the greatest supporters of the anti-globalization movement.

If Defense of Globalization has any major failings, they come from its style, not its arguments or evidence. Often Bhagwati keeps the text engaging by making sure he uses contemporary examples, but at times these examples seem gratuitous, even cringeworthy. His odd observation about oral sex in the O.J. Simpson trial only makes the reader uncomfortable, and his endless recounting of supposedly well known jokes and sayings rarely conjures a chuckle. These side notes serve only to get in the way of Bhagwati’s excellent critiques.

Thankfully, with each page Bhagwati’s argument becomes more focused; as he moves from pop culture, surely only a pastime, to economics, his area of expertise, In Defense of Globalization becomes infinitely more enjoyable to read. In the end, the book’s failings are minor and its successes are substantial. For those who would like to convince a friend that globalization is a worthy cause, Bhagwati’s book just might do the trick – just make sure he makes it to capital markets and doesn’t get stuck on O.J.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 29th, 2005 at 2:57 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.