In The News

Hail Britannia!

Immanuel Wallerstein July 25, 2003
In the lead up to the invasion of Iraq – and especially with the difficulties the US has encountered since – there is a renewed interest in the historical experience of past imperial efforts. Not surprisingly, the publication of British historian Niall Ferguson's provocative history of the British Empire has aroused special interest. In this review of the book, noted historian and World...

We Didn't Start the Fire: Capitalism and Its Critics, Then and Now

Sheri Berman July 24, 2003
It seems that the recent era of globalization is what’s fueling a controversy over the merits of capitalism, but historian Jerry Muller’s book, “The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Modern European Thought,” reminds us that capitalism has had its critics since at least the 18th century. Capitalism is a relatively new system in the trajectory of human history, says this review essay. However,...

Non-Globalized States Pose a Threat

Banning N. Garrett July 7, 2003
Liberia's raging civil war is bringing the issue of failing states in Africa dramatically to the fore as US President Bush begins his first ever trip to the continent. Amidst domestic bloodbath, the threat posed to the interconnected world by failing states like Liberia or other rogue or weak states may not be immediately apparent. However, as this article points out, the weakness of such...

The Poor Like Globalization

David Dollar June 23, 2003
More, not less, economic integration is good for the world, according to a worldwide poll, conducted by the Pew Global Attitude Survey. David Dollar, Director of Developmental Policy at the World Bank, cites findings from the survey to support the argument he has made in the past that globalization indeed helps reduce poverty and inequality. He points to a significant decrease in the number of...

A Mickey Mouse Approach to Globalization

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom June 16, 2003
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman argues for a world united by common cultural experiences. But cultural globalization, writes historian Jeffrey Wasserstrom, is not so simple as eating a McDonald's hamburger that tastes the same on every continent. Standardized products like Big Macs and Starbucks coffee hold very different meanings in different countries, argues Wasserstrom. In China...

Showdown for a Tool in Human Rights Lawsuits

Alex Markels June 15, 2003
Multinational corporations (MNCs) are often subject to accusations by human rights and anti-globalization activists. To add to a long list of MNCs brought before US courts, energy giant Unocal currently faces a lawsuit filed by villagers from southeastern Myanmar, in a California court. Unocal is accused of aiding military authorities in Myanmar (Burma) in human rights abuses against local...

The Noble Feat of Nike

Johan Norberg June 13, 2003
What really are the pros and cons of globalization? In this article, Johan Norberg, an advocate of globalization, uses the example of Nike in Vietnam to demonstrate the benefits of globalization. According to Norberg, in Vietnam Nike pays its workers three times higher than the minimum wage earned in state-owned enterprises, provides its workers free or subsidized meals, education, and training,...