Globalization Gap, The: How the Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Left Further Behind

Globalization Has Triumphed, But Can We Save the Poor?

“An impassioned report on the dangerous side of globalization, the book is a much-needed counter to the widespread propensity of economists to spring automatically to its defense. Recognizing that globalization cannot be wished away, the author turns to the proper question: how can we ensure that its potential contribution to welfare is not lost?”

     —William Baumol, Emeritus Professor, Princeton University, and co-author of Downsizing in America: Reality, Causes and Consequences

“Robert Isaak is unique among critics of Globalization in that he accepts it as inevitable but goes determinedly to propose innovations that can make it work better economically and socially for the rich and the poor.”

“Robert Isaak's new book presents fresh ideas on globalization that will enrich a polarized debate between the pessimists and the hyper-optimists. His work brings back Ortega y Gasset classic ideas of the late 1930’s when the "masses" brought down globalization and with it the worst recession and the bloodiest war. I am sure that Isaak's book will guide the readers to look forward after learning from past ideas and experiences.”

     —Jorge Pinto, former Ambassador of Mexico and member of the Board of the World Bank. Director of the Center for Global Finance

For most people except the world’s very richest, globalization is failing—catastrophically. If we don’t act, its failure will lead to a global upheaval worse than any in human history. But there’s another, better path. Isaak shows how a new globalization can give the poor a powerful stake, both here and abroad. Isaak's ideas can lead toward a more stable, peaceful world, in which we can all build our futures—rich and poor alike.

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Index

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Table of Contents

About the Author.

Preface.

Introduction.

1. The Revolt of the Rich.

2. Time versus Opportunity.

False Promises of Development

I. THE RICH: WHO THEY ARE AND HOW THEY WORK AND WHY THEY SPEED THINGS UP.

3. Who the Rich Are and How They Live.

Big, First, and Well Positioned.

Bigger Houses with Fewer People in Them.

Education Equals Savings and Investment.

The Truly Rich Are Really Thrifty.

Harried Leisure and Time Deprivation.

4. Pyramids of Opportunity.

A Sea Change: Getting Rich on the Job.

5. Corporate Wealth and Hedging.

6. The Global Speed Trap: Diversifying to Ward off Losses and Old Age.

How the Global Economy Is Speeding Up.

Attention Deficit Disorder: Metaphor for Cultural Disintegration?

The Graying of the Rich: From Baby Boom to Bust.

II. THE POOR: WHO THEY ARE, HOW THEY LIVE, AND WHY THEY ARE DEPENDENT.

7. Why the Poor Are Where They Are.

Income Inequality.

Is the World's Middle Class Disappearing?

Asset Inequalities.

Democratic Deficits versus Too Much Democracy.

8. A Passage Through India.

Emerging Modernity.

Reinforcing Poverty through Religion and Cultural Traditions.

"Indian Time," Caste, and Aesthetic Design Confront Globalization.

High-Tech Bangalore and the Time Warp.

9. Poverty Traps.

The Institutional Trap.

The Trade Trap.

The Educational Trap, the Gender Gap, and the Digital Divide.

The Debt Trap.

Cultural Traps and Governability.

Property Laws, Legal Traps, Limited Markets.

III. THE RULES.

10. Origins of the Rules of Globalization.

Protecting Comparative Advantage: Making the Most of What You've Got.

The "Fixing" of Exchange Rates.

Oil Cartels and Petro-Dollars.

Democratizing Investment Banking.

Trade Rules.

From Scarcity to Ubiquity: Digitization and the Falling Cost of Information.

11. How the Rules Rule the Poor.

How to Increase Poverty with Trade.

How Free Capital Flows Can Create the Poor.

The Competitiveness Mantra: Consolidate, Raise Productivity, Downsize, Outsource.

IV. CRISIS AND SOLUTIONS.

12. Global Crises We Will All Face.

Too Many People in the Wrong Places.

The Spread of Plagues and Epidemic Diseases.

The Rapid Global Spread of Unemployment and Underemployment.

The Education Crisis: Elite Hierarchies Confront Desperate Demands for Tools and Open Access.

From Corporate Oligarchy to Chaos.

The Environmental Crisis.

American Unilateralism: Taxation Without Representation?

Proliferation of Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Weapons.

13. A Blueprint for Sharing Opportunity.

Keeping the Promise of Democratic Capitalism: Open Opportunity.

Why It Benefits the Richest of the Rich to Help the Poorest of the Poor. Building High-Tech, Sustainable Communities.

Ten Steps for Replicating Sustainable Silicon Valleys.

Attracting Venture Capital: A Transparent NGO with a Nonbusiness Service Division.

Resistance to Free Market Ideology Due to the Democratic Deficit.

The Interface with Governments and International Organizations.

Acknowledgments.

Index.