Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet | 
 enlarge | Author: Jeffrey D. Sachs
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
Buy New: $12.93
You Save: $15.02 (54%)
New (49) Used (13) Collectible (1) from $12.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 3094
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 5.9 x 1.4
ISBN: 1594201277
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.9
EAN: 9781594201271
ASIN: 1594201277
Publication Date: March 18, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: This is a brand new book sent straight from the publisher.
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
From one of the world's greatest economic minds, author of The New York Times bestseller The End of Poverty, a clear and vivid map of the road to sustainable and equitable global prosperity and an augury of the global economic collapse that lies ahead if we don't follow it
The global economic system now faces a sustainability crisis, Jeffrey Sachs argues, that will overturn many of our basic assumptions about economic life. The changes will be deeper than a rebalancing of economics and politics among different parts of the world; the very idea of competing nation-states scrambling for power, resources, and markets will, in some crucial respects, become pass. The only question is how bad it will have to get before we face the unavoidable. We will have to learn on a global scale some of the hard lessons that successful societies have gradually and grudgingly learned within national borders: that there must be common ground between rich and poor, among competing ethnic groups, and between society and nature.
The central theme of Jeffrey Sachs's new book is that we need a new economic paradigm-global, inclusive, cooperative, environmentally aware, science based- because we are running up against the realities of a crowded planet. The alternative is a worldwide economic collapse of unprecedented severity. Prosperity will have to be sustained through more cooperative processes, relying as much on public policy as on market forces to spread technology, address the needs of the poor, and to husband threatened resources of water, air, energy, land, and biodiversity. The "soft issues" of the environment, public health, and population will become the hard issues of geopolitics. New forms of global politics will in important ways replace capital-city-dominated national diplomacy and intrigue. National governments, even the United States, will become much weaker actors as scientific networks and socially responsible investors and foundations become the more powerful actors.
If we do the right things, there is room for all on the planet. We can achieve the four key goals of a global society: prosperity for all, the end of extreme poverty, stabilization of the global population, and environmental sustainability. These are not utopian goals or pipe dreams, yet they are far from automatic. Indeed, we are not on a successful trajectory now to achieve these goals. Common Wealth points the way to the course correction we must embrace for the sake of our common future.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 Insightful, frightening and promising September 25, 2008
Famed economist Jeffrey Sachs manages to deliver pessimistic news in an optimistic way. Yes, the Earth faces dire threats from global warming, poverty, war, deforestation and mass extinctions. Yet Sachs asserts that these severe problems are manageable. Fixing them will cost $840 billion - a massive amount indeed, but, as Sachs argues, only 2.4% of the rich world's gross national product. Sachs doesn't shy away from politically touchy pronouncements. He argues against the U.S. war in Iraq and for legalized abortion. Still, throughout the fray, his book strikes the unlikely balance of delivering a message that's both frightening and promising. getAbstract recommends this book to anyone seeking insight into the world's most pressing problems.
Great service September 10, 2008
The book arrived very quickly, well packaged, in great shape. I was pleased to see follow-up to confirm mailing date and arrival on this end. I would buy from this vendor again! Try them. MOM
Global Changes September 10, 2008
The global energy, environmental and economic situation is going through major changes. Jeffrey Sachs does an excellent job of analyzing the issues, choices and possible consequences before the world community. Comprehensive in nature, this book makes an excellent textbook that should be required reading for all who need to understand the realities of the new age before us. This is all of us so "Common Wealth" is a must read.
 Common wealth August 31, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I received the book on time and in very good condition. This is a wonderful book that gives you a clear view of the problems facing the world and how we can solve them.
common wealth August 6, 2008
What a wonderful read! If you want to understand the planet that we are inheriting at this moment, in real time, then this book is for you. Get your global bearings here.
|
|
|
