[.ca] George Soros on Globalization (ISBN 1586481258)

A Critic From Within the System:
I bought this book because I wanted to learn something about the globalization debate and try to understand why it has gotten some people stirred up enought to riot in Seattle and stage mass protests elsewhere. I had at least heard of the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO before all this got started, but (like probably 98% of Americans) I had no real idea of what they do or how they do it. I didn't want to start out by reading either an economist (since as a general rule they seem to be excruciatingly poor writers) or one of the radical reformers (ditto). George Soros seemed like the perfect solution -- a successful player in the international financial markets, who has directed a significant chunk of his wealth to international philanthropic efforts. In other words, someone who has seen the problems from the inside and is working to remedy them (even though he has a stake in the current system). Soros' conviction in France last week for insider trading probably hurts his personal credibility, but doesn't affect the validity of his arguments about our international institutions and the US's role in the world. "George Soros on Globalization" is a short book (about 180 pages, with *lots* of blank space), which is both its chief virtue and a significant limitation. It's a fast read and gave me a good overview of the problems with our global financial and trade arrangements (what these markets can and cannot do, the role the US has played and should play in the allocation of private and public goods), and a basic understanding of some possible solutions. Brevity also translates to very little explanation, however (I still don't really know what the World Bank and the IMF do), and very little development of Soros' thoughts on possible solutions. For example, Soros suggests that strengthening the ILO (rather than weakening the WTO) is the way to address global labor issues, but it's hard to imagine this happening and before I would consider this a practical solution I'd want to know more about how this would work and whether it's really feasible. The "centerpiece" of Soros' book is his proposal for a reformed method of providing foreign aid through Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). Unfortunately, if you don't know anything about currency reserves and how they affect the economies of developing countries (and I don't), a lot of this discussion will be over your head. I had to take on faith quite a few bald statements about how SDRs would work and how they will benefit developing nations. And I had some questions about the parts that were easier to follow. For example, Soros proposes an independent board of professionally qualified experts who will identify projects that are eligible for donor financing. He emphasizes the importance of this board being professional, expert and free of national ties -- but he makes no suggestion as to how this laudable but probably unrealistic goal is to be achieved. Soros' concluding chapter is essentially a plea for the US to develop a broader understanding of its global interests -- that we are strongest and safest when we promote a more equitable distribution of public goods (such as health, education and the rule of law) and take a more multi-lateral leadership role in the reduction of poverty worldwide. I happen to agree with Soros here, but I doubt that this chapter will persuade anyone who is not already inclined to accept Soros' conclusions. Despite the defects noted, I would recommend this book to anyone who is wondering what the fuss over globalization is all about. If you read nothing else, this will at least give you an overview of the issues. Soros' writing style tends to the oracular pronouncement (there are lots of one or two sentence paragraphs -- as if the book grew out of a series of bullet points that he couldn't be troubled to turn into real paragraphs), which can be annoying, but it does get you through the material quickly. Overall, a stimulating read.

Written by a convicted criminal & inside trader:
Soros was convicted of inside trading at the end of 2002. He broke the law by trading using inside information in the takeover of Societe Generale. I guess with globalization, wealthy people will get wealthier so they can cheat, lie, trade on inside information and then try to manipulate the elections of the United States and countries in Eastern Europe. From a new site detailing Mr. Soros crime: "Mr Soros and three other defendants, the court found, bought Societe Generale stock when it was cheap, and cashed in their investment when the price rose after the bid became public. Two other businessmen implicated in the scandal - Edmond Safra and Robert Maxwell - have since died." Robert Maxwell killed himself after cheating British workers out of their pensions and engaging in a huge fraud to cheat investors. Safra was also a dubious character. Soros is known by the company he keeps. Avoid this book. There are better books written by reformed criminals. It is a shame Enron blew up because he would have made a good CEO there.

Some interesting ideas:
Well, I read a book on Globalization by George Soros. That was interesting in that he is a world financier who believes that the current system is unjust and that institutions need to be strengthened. He had some suggestions that I found interesting, the ones that I understood at least. George seems a little full of himself at times, recounting his own activities that seemed a little self-gratifying, which probably comes from being so influential and powerful as a leading world hedge fund manager. But his humble beginnings, his deep concern for justice and fairness in the world economic order, and his commitment to effecting some kind of positive change in the world are extremely admirable, and I am very impressed by him.

George Soros on Globalization:
A millionaire financier, international philanthropist, and critic of the global capitalistic system, Soros has written several books on the benefits and costs of so-called globalization. In this new volume he extends his views on the need for safety nets in developing countries and public goods production (e.g., education and environmental protection) and discusses the greater likelihood for financial crises due to the greater freedom now available for volatile international finance flows. Inequities of globalization have generated, on the one hand, protests against international organizations (especially the International Monetary Fund and World Bank); on the other hand, these bodies are criticized by market fundamentalists opposed to interference with the efficiencies of free markets. Soros notes that protesters overlook such causes of poverty as armed conflict, oppressive and corrupt regimes, and weak governance; and while free markets are good at generating wealth, poverty alleviation is not always inevitable. To assist poor countries, Soros proposes that rich countries issue SDRs (an international reserve asset) to the IMF, contributed according to an income-based quota system; an independent board would be appointed to supervise assistance operations. Written in generally clear, nontechnical language, this book deserves attention by students and practitioners of foreign economic affairs. General readers; upper-division undergraduate students and up; and professionals.

At least he is honest and clear in his view: let's debate:
George Soros is generally an articulate, thoughtful, and sincere person who puts his money where his mouth is. He never hides his political agenda as other economic pundits do. In this short book he opens the debate on what directions should be taken in the international community to tackle some of the perceived defects of the global financial system. He takes the current US government to task for being unilateral, whether that's a fair criticism or not is debatable; nevertheless, he is sincere in trying to find solutions that might be better for everybody concerned, including the US. The book is very much an opinion piece: its like an extended op ed, so don't expect a tutorial or clear explanation of how globalization has done or how it works. In his previous books he has more about his life, experience, and insights into the financial world, and these books are more interesting reads. In reality, this book more of a political treatise with a economic focus, which you may or may not agree with. But he sincerely puts forth a concrete proposal to use the WTO and IMF in an effective manner to create his vision of open societies, a laudable goal, which no doubt will be ignored. He is interested in debate, but its too bad he is not publically accessable, like all rich and famous (I tried and failed), since he needs to be informed of some scientific analogies similar to his concept of reflective processes and that might help him come up with a more realistic proposal (that might work). Moreover, he would understand why his seemly practical proposal is too idealistic, even for a hard-nosed capitalist with significant experience in international finance. Although he cites talking to numerous people on this proposal (a quite impressive list), apparently none of them understand enough science and history to help; this is not surprising since the mainstream (typically established, rich and/or famous) can never see or solve tomorrow's problems. Too bad: he is smart enough, logical enough, and interested in tackling problems that nobody else sees in the almost correct light (open societies) as he does.