No comments about Emerging Capital Markets in Turmoil: Bad Luck or Bad Policy?.

1 comments about Capital and Collusion: The Political Logic of Global Economic Development.

1. The book was sent in an excellent condition as it was advertised. However, the shipment was not as fast as it was promised.

No comments about Going Private: The International Experience With Transport Privatization.

No comments about Global Civil Society: Dimensions of the Nonprofit Sector.

5 comments about Parecon: Life After Capitalism.

1. Because there is no "before capitalism." A stupid, stupid book designed to trick people into communism.



2. Definitely. We cannot count on Mr. Albert's ideas to move away from capitalism.



3. In this comprehensive, well-organised argument for a meaningful post-capitalist political economy, Michael Albert critiques both free-market capitalism as well as its existing (or failed) alternatives of central-planning (the Soviet model) and market socialism (the Yugoslav model) offering a well-thought out vision of democratic planning, self management and balanced job-complexes as an antidote.
   Many of Albert's core ideas are not, in themselves, new but can be traced to currents in libertarian socialist thought from as early as the late nineteenth century and systems close to parecons have managed to emerge throughout history in various contexts (though seldom have they been very long-lived for a number of reasons).
   Overall, Parecon is an impressive and inspiring vision of what we could achieve if we chose to live according to a fundamentally different set of guiding values and modes of operation to those that prevail in a market system. Naturally, implementation in real life would be beset with many challenges and difficulties but having a vision of what "the good society" is brings us that much closer to achieving it.
   I applaud Michael Albert's work in producing Parecon and heartily recommend it to anyone interested in questions of post-capitalist political-economy.



4. this book is well written, well researched and well thought out.
   
   the argument against capitalism, market socialism and centrally planned economies is firmly established by this book.
   
   this is a bible for anyone who wants to democratize the economy



5. Parecon attempts to defend "participatory" economics. However, only a bureaucrat could love "parecon". I did not see any mention of America's Shakers who tried a religious form of participatory economics and failed. Nor did I see anything on the many socialistic communes that formed in America in the 1970's (Most failed). Nor did I see anything to explain why some of Israel's kibbutzim seem to lack the enthusiasm they had 40 and 50 years ago.
   
   Parecon is at least one (or more) step(s) toward socialism than is the concept of Co-ops. The author suggests that no one should have any "ownwership" of any means of production. To me, this means that there is no individual ownership of anything including of my self. Everything should belong to all members of the parecon society. Unfortunately, this totally disregards very fundamental human psychology. If I have access to anything that can be used as a means of production for stuff that is "scarce", I am going to try to produce the scarcity so I can get a higher reward for my efforts than society is willing to give me for my regular, assigned, job.
   
   There are a number of these blind spots to the realities of human psychology in the author's presentation. For example, the author does not discuss "competition".
   
   On the other hand, the presentation is worthwhile for students of economics who wish to intellectually explore various possibilities for economics.
   
   My overall impression is that parecon has too much potential for some alpha-dog participants to take advantage of more passive participants and much too much bureaucracy necessary to achieve parecon in an entire nation. I think there is a serious lack of individual freedom or liberty in the author's notion of a parecon. I think it would be more worthwhile and more realistic to study how tribal economies work in the various American Indian nations.

No comments about The Japanese Economy.

1 comments about An Anticlassical Political-Economic Analysis: A Vision for the Next Century.

1. I think Murakami is one of the forgotten academes of the world, if one would read his book, the reader would get another perspective on how this world should be governed. I really like the way he pointed out that Economics and Politics can never be seperated, a very comprehensive ellaboration of his points that would surely be a permanent part of my ideas and thoughts. Rest in Peace Professor!

1 comments about Comparative Economic Systems (The Dryden Press Series in Economics).

1. This book explores and compares the different economic systems throughout the world in an easy, almost non-academic manner (it's used in several universities as a textbook.) Mr. Gardner writes in an entertaining and easy-to-understand style, and his explanations are precise and informative. Having been written in 1988, the book still dedicates a good portion of its content to the Soviet communist economic system, which is now a "distant" memory. Still, it's a good reminder of how divided the world was economically and philosophically for almost the entire 20th Century. All in all, a must read for people who want to learn the basics (and a lot of nuances) of the main economic systems of the world

No comments about Financing Energy Efficiency: Lessons from Brazil, China, India, and Beyond.

5 comments about Brave New Wealthy World: Winning the Struggle for Global Prosperity (Financial Times (Prentice Hall)).

1. People who want to make high returns on their investments and retire rich will find a lot to like here. The poor countries aren't only going to do all the dirty work for the rich countries and make all the cheap manufactured stuff we buy in Wal-Mart. The poor countries are also going to solve our retirement crisis by giving us high rates of return on our savings. This book will make people mad who want the rich countries to quit dictating to the poor countries. People who think free trade does a lot of harm don't know the really ugly side of the story, but they'll get a good look at it if they read this book.



2. The U.S. has turned into a financial predator nation - borrowing billions every week from abroad and pissing the money away on imported luxuries, and borrowing more to pay for wars. Foreigners keep shoveling money into the U.S. and anyone who thinks they'll stop or thinks that the whole game will come to a sudden end should read this book. There's more going on than comes out in the newspapers. The really surprising message of this book is that everything could come out well - not only for the 300 million people that own financial assets, but also for the six billion that don't. I slammed this book down on the table a few times but after a few minutes I picked it up again.



3. This book outlines the working of the global financial system in a clear and concise manner. It helped me understand the global financial interconnections and provided a solid understanding of how First World nations view the rest of the world. However, I disagree with the basic principles laid out in this book. Until the wealthy first world stops sucking off the resources of the poorest nations, there will always be strife and war.



4. The conclusions drawn by the author are very logical and thorougly researched.
   **HOWEVER**
   The author's entire line of argument is faulted!
   He does not fully take into account the limited resources that the global economic system operates with.
   Prosperity, defined as ability to consume desired goods, can NOT be reached at the same level as that in Western countries- because there aren't enough goods to meet the consumption demands of the world's population at that level.
   It is very simple.



5. The argument hit me in stages. As I zipped through the stories, I found myself smiling, but then I started thinking more seriously about what this book was saying, and now I think it's cruel and triumphalist. This book may become a tool in the hands of people who want to neglect the poor and feel good about it.