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Book Review Group 14 Presents Book Review on “The Commanding Heights:

Book Review Group 14 Presents Book Review on “The Commanding Heights: The Battle for World Economy “. Meet the Authors. Dr. Joseph Stanislaw. Dr. Daniel Yergin. Co-founder and chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) Won Pulitzer for “The Prize”. Co-founder of CERA

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Book Review Group 14 Presents Book Review on “The Commanding Heights:

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  1. Book Review Group 14 Presents Book Review on “The Commanding Heights: The Battle for World Economy “

  2. Meet the Authors... Dr. Joseph Stanislaw Dr. Daniel Yergin • Co-founder and chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) • Won Pulitzer for “The Prize” • Co-founder of CERA • Financial Adviser

  3. Basic theme of the book... Economic Regimes of Socialism vis-à-vis Free Markets What Globalization really is A riveting narrative through history describes these two issues...

  4. Title of the book... Vladimir Lenin’s 1922 speech on the “New Economic Policy”

  5. Purpose of the book... • Inform the reader of economic developments in different countries of the world. • Highlight the differences between the economic approaches of socialism and capitalism. • Clarify various risks and opportunities of globalization. • Appreciate the power and success of market forces and the role of state control. • Give food for thought for the coming years.

  6. A Brief Overview… The “First Age” of globalization (1870s-1914) Rise of Socialism and state-control. (1914-1940s) Success of command economies and Keynesian thought (1950s-1970s) Decline of communism. Adoption of Hayekian model. (1970s-1980s) Decrease in state control and large-scale reforms across the world (1980s-1990s) Advent of the “Second Age” of globalization. (1990s-present) Challenges to the new age.

  7. Some ideas from the book...

  8. “First Age” of globalization… “The first era of globalization took place from 1870s till 1914—the fateful year in which began the First World War. This period of globalization was largely aided by three innovations: the steam engine, the steam ship and the telegraph. These inventions were instrumental in nearly instantaneous transfer of information and facilitated much quicker movement of people and hence ideas.” Here we have a part of the first Mickey Mouse cartoon in 1928 , titled “Steamboat Willie”

  9. The War, and Communist revolutions First World War (1914-1919) Communist Revolution in Russia

  10. The Great Depression (1929-1933)

  11. Clash of the Titans: The “Battle of Ideas” John Maynard Keynes Friedrich von Hayek

  12. Socialism and Keynesian thought rules… France India Russia

  13. Winds of Change… “As the oil shocks of 1970’s grabbed headlines, general slowdown in the world economy stared everyone in the face, and several nations started showing the cracks in communism, two Hayek-inspired political leaders came into the limelight: Margaret Thatcher in 1979 and Ronald Reagan in 1981.“ Here, we have a video of the Iron Lady herself…

  14. Change is here... The reforms of 1980s Britain’s Iron Lady PM Margaret Thatcher speaks on ”Popular Capitalism” and lessening state control (1986)

  15. The “Dancing Elephant:” India Surges In 1991, India too finally gave up its licensing policy and underwent major economic reforms: liberalization, privatization and globalization. Page 397 of the book quotes Manmohan Singh, then finance minister: “It’s not about government disappearing [...] It is about restructuring the role of the government. Getting government out of activities where governments are not very efficient [...] Getting government involved where [...] markets alone cannot provide the necessary amount of goods: [...] basic education, basic health care, environmental protection, basic social safety [...]“

  16. Dawn of the “Second Age” of globalization

  17. Weaknesses of the book... • An over-simplification of the Keynes-Hayek “Battle of Ideas.” Also Keynesian economics is underscored, even though Hayek deserves more credit as later economic models emulated him. • Assumption that perfect competition would operate in markets. • Narrative in some places is fragmented as the theme switches between chronology, economics and countries. • Not enough emphasis on sustainability and inclusiveness. • Comparison between state-owned undertakings and large private corporations is absent. Only the former has been criticized.

  18. Strengths of the book... Several original interviews of economists and political leaders. Interesting anecdotes and “behind-the-scenes” approach to the development of socio-economic policies. Fair coverage of a large number of countries—their historical backgrounds and their main figures. Clear narrative with comparisons of historical and contemporary decisions and also implications of the former. Description of India vis-à-vis other countries gives fresh perspectives.

  19. 6. Examples of failures and successes of communism and market forces. 7. Optimism regarding the future of globalization and also market forces. Illustrations to show the intricate relationship between political setups and economic philosophy. A conspicuous balance in the use of jargon, which makes the book enjoyable both for the common person and for the economist.

  20. Remarks The book is an excellent read for everyone because globalization and economics touch everyone’s lives today. Civil servants should especially read it in order to understand clearly: How market forces operate? What is the limit till which state-control should be exercised? What is the role of the governments world over as a provider and enabler? How has bureaucracy and private sector both contributed to ushering in globalization? Where does India stand in the coming years with respect to the rest of the world? What are the impending problems associated with globalization?

  21. Recommendations 1. “Commanding Heights” has been made into an excellent 6-hour documentary available on the PBS website. It is a must-watch for everyone. Group 14 highly recommends it to all! The link is: www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/ 2. Another book called “Keynes Hayek: The Clash that defined Modern Economics” by Nicholas Wapshott further explores the theories of Keynes and Hayek.

  22. Conclusion In our opinion, market forces are to be seen as forces of nature—like the wind and the tide. To flow with them is being reckless, and to resist them is futile… The only solution is to harness them for growth and development. It is in this context that inclusiveness and sustainability are the next challenges to globalization, which need to be met in order to have a truly equitable and connected world, and a prosperous humanity…

  23. Thank You!

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