Globalization from Below

This book takes on globalization, arguing that while globalization from "above" (i.e. in service of elites in the form of transnational capitalism) does more harm than good, that globalization from "below" (grassroots social change) is necessary to fix current problems around the world.

I found this book to lack coherence, and also found it to be really inaccessible. I had a hard time following it and I don't think it's just because I was feeling sick while reading it. The authors repeat themselves a lot, and they also don't really have a main thesis or backbone in this book so it just sort of rambles on until it ends.

A few of the examples of effective change brought about by globalization from below in this book were also problematic, show more in my opinion. The authors write about how a pact was written to halt the usage of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) but anybody eating in the United States today can tell you that it obviously didn't do any good. See also: Nestlé and their campaign to get people in developing countries to use formula instead of breastfeed. The boycott and subsequent grassroots movements haven't stopped Nestlé at all.

The book was originally published in 2000 and it was interesting to read a book talking about how awful Pat Buchanan and Newt Gingrich are. But the last chapter in this version is an afterward which gives a lot of space to hating on Bush and Cheney, so I guess I still got my fill. show less