Paradoxes of Prosperity: Why the New Capitalism Benefits All

Book Description

Diane Coyle brings us a book about why the New Economy with its prospect of improved productivity, faster growth, greater riches and full employment is causing an anti-globalization and anti-capitalism revolution. Political consequences of a new technological framework will undermine certain power elites just as the Industrial Revolution undermined the landed aristocracy. Furthermore, and paradoxically, it was the 1990s boom and affluence that led to people's anxiety and insecurity and propelled them to protest. For the first time in nearly 40 years, young people were taking to the streets in mass anti-globalization riots. Local people were stopping projects led by multinationals.

Customer Reviews:

My impression about this book........2004-12-10

I will probably fail miserably if I attempt to make a learned analysis of this book, rather, I will share my impression on this work (purely subjective) with whomever cares to read this review. I found this book by Diane Coyle exquisite. I am no fan of Capitalism, yet, found her arguments very persuasive and full of common sense. I have an already admitted weakness for books of this sort (economic related matters for the layman). Ms. Coyle makes a powerful argument of why the new brand of Capitalism will be good for the masses after a transitional period and why it will remove from power most of these days' entrenched powers that be. This book is worth your time and money. Enjoy it. Somehow related to it is another good book I am reading at this time that is entitled: The Sovereign Individual (James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg)

Highly Recommended!.......2002-01-30

Diane Coyle, a consultant and columnist, presents an in-depth and optimistic look at modern capitalism. Dubbing our current age a transitional period, she predicts that the result of our recent bout of high-tech fueled economic growth will be even more growth and a better society. Coyle refers to historical parallels and many texts to make her case that technology has transformed society in significant ways that even experts are only beginning to understand. We [...] recommend this compelling and authoritative book to executives and managers, and to serious readers and academics, all of whom will enjoy the way it makes sense of today's contradictory financial and social developments.

COyle enters the ranks of the greats.......2002-01-29

Paul Krugman. Bradford De Long. There are few economists able to make complex ideas sing for the general reader. With her latest book The Paradoxes of Prosperity, her follow-up to 1999's The Weightless World, Diane Coyle has entered their ranks.

That the book succeeds so well is a testament to Coyle's ability to keep two conflicting ideas in the reader's head at the same time. Thus the central, unwritten paradox at the heart of the book: she is a whistleblower on the whole global capitalism game while managing at the same time to be its strongest champion.

What makes Coyle so engaging is her fearlessness in grappling with the very biggest concerns of our times: Is free-market economics really the only game in town? What is the role of government? What is the future of the nation state? What do you do about inequality? Inevitably there are no glib answers to these questions, and the core of the book is given over to Coyle's explanation for a series of paradoxes: Wealth generation is good, but relies on change, which people don't like. Why, in a weightless world, have places become more important than ever? Why is it that the technology that permits empowerment and has the potential to boost democratic control is in fact generally felt to be disempowering and facilitating central control? Why do we have a love-hate relationship with government in which we value certain services but vote for tax-cutting platforms? She tackles these issues with huge verve and intelligence.

There are any number of reasons to like Coyle. For one thing, she walks the walk. She argues that new companies must speak to the heart and head (p166) and she does exactly that in her text: how can you not like a heavyweight economist who admits to having been an adolescent cooped up in a darkened room listening to the Clash? She follows her own Just Do It advice by setting up her own company, Enlightenment Economics. She has an exquisite feel for the apposite anecdote and the telling example. So, when arguing that physical assets are not as important for a company as its `network' or licensing assets, as well as the obvious example of Nike she mentions Topsy Tail, a $100 million hair products company which has three employees. And while she can be wonderfully breathy ("The struggle is now on for the distribution of the benefits that will be generated by a surge in prosperity thanks to economic growth driven by the new technologies"), she has a great line in invective: "A lot of management advice is of course complete twaddle. Empty intellectual calories pandering to the hunger for advice of managers aware of the pressures for change".

The Paradoxes of Prosperity is a no-holds-barred riposte to anti-globalists, luddites and those who believe in the need for worldwide economic change but reject capitalism as the engine for doing so. She is quick to point out the obvious paradox that anti-globalisation campaigners are globalisation's biggest beneficiaries, and the less obvious one that globalisation of a product (like sushi) doesn't homogenize it, but grows the franchise. Coyle is profoundly and sometimes hilariously unapologetic in her belief in technology-led `turbo-capitalism'. It's all over this book. "What is it that increases human prosperity?" she asks rhetorically on page 7: "Technological progress seems to be the answer" booms the next line. You can almost feel Naomi Klein flinch. Coyle places herself firmly in the camp of free-market mavens like Luuk van Middelaar and Matt Ridley. "The technology driven capitalist economy is the only reason any of us has a comfortable home, plentiful food....and children who have a good chance of surviving infancy". (p3) In order for the book to succeed, she has to convince us that her basic argument is watertight: That there is such a thing as New Capitalism, that it really is new, and, most controversially, that it really is good for us.

Coyle is on firm ground with the first two. She takes us very effectively through the productivity paradox: why the ICT revolution has surprisingly little to show for itself in growth terms. So far only The US, with its vastly greater computer infrastructure and investment, shows evidence of post 1973 growth due to technical progress. Partly it is to do with measurement difficulties, and partly to do with the fact that technological revolutions are `sleepers' - they don't make their effects felt for some fifty years after their introduction.

And is this the New New Thing? It would appear so. There is mounting evidence (from R&D budgets, patents registrations and so on) that developed economies rely on brains more than brawn. She subscribes to Arnold Harberger's denomination of ICT as a yeast technology, meaning that it seeps into other business areas and catalyses change there. Biotechnology, alternative energy and nanotechnology all get a look-in. She makes excellent examples to make parallels with the past. Especially effective is the reminder that each generation is woefully myopic about the potential for its new technologies - it is hard to believe that the telephone was once envisaged as a broadcasting device, for example.

Inevitably it is where Coyle tries to argue the benefits of all this that she will find her toughest critics. Her argument, which she returns to again and again, is that New Capitalism is great because its raw currency is us, or at least the creative stuff flowing between our ears. We are, as never before, owners of our means of production. And that's not all. Because the cogs of this new economy are oiled by personal trust, healthy open societies will be hewn from bureaucratic or despotic misery by the `human capital' and social context they engender. "It is not going to be possible to build a vigorous modern economy without building a fair society" (xix)

It sounds too good to be true, and not even a book this good can dispel all the doubts. For one thing, Coyle never quite convinces that the New Capitalism is not simply parasitic on the institutions of the bad old capitalism. The fortunes made in the weightless economy depended on the apparatus of capital funding, enlightened credit arrangements and trust. The ultimate beneficiaries of unfettered techno-capitalism are still shareholders, just as they were in the bad old days, so Coyle's talk of 'usurping elites' rings hollow (xvii). The assumption about trickle-down effects is based on a rose-tinted view of the capitalist structures in place in the developing world. The economist Hernando de Soto is just one of those who worry that wealth creation where corruption or nepotism is the norm may be at the expense of the majority, and no amount of faith in `human capital' will change that.

There is also the feeling that, well, no-one seems to be having all that much fun in Coyle's brave new world. Even the supposed winners of all this, the intra-urban uber yuppies, feel insecure and unsettled, as sociologist Richard Sennett has pointed out. She notes that "the US job market might have the right kind of flexibility to make possible large scale switches from one kind of occupation to another". Worker flexibility is the vital ingredient. Middle managers become technologically redundant. Ouch. Coyle tells us that freedom of people to move is the missing link of globalisation. Small wonder that there is such opposition to the whole idea.
Coyle admits there is huge potential for conflict, especially between rich and poor countries (foreign direct investment) and is honest about the shocks of deindustrialisation and downsizing. She is clear about the growing gap between rich and poor, but doesn't apologise for it: in the long run we all benefit from a generally improved standard of living. She marshals Amartya Sen, and says "Those countries excluded from the postwar process of economic liberalisation and trade have plainly fared less well than those engaged in the world economy".

But in the end this is a mesmeric and hugely insightful read. The value of Coyle's work is that it sets out clearly the parameters for intelligent debate on a subject that is clouded with fear and false assumptions. It knocks down the shibboleths of anti-globalisation and yet squares up honestly to the slightly disquieting future that awaits us: Get ready for constant change. Paradoxes of Prosperity is a litany of creepy stuff for conservatives: Institutions built for national industrial societies are inadequate for the global, weightless society; the authority of the professions will be undermined because bodies of knowledge will become common; and it's harder and harder to find effective cultural signifiers of dissent and rebellion, meaning we face a future dominated by nihilistic atrocities by the disenchanted. Coyle's message is that this is still infinitely preferable to pinchbeck bureaucratic control. If global capitalism is the only game in town, a clear understanding of the power balance between technology, markets and governments is vital, and Coyle's contribution is outstanding.

Book Description

In a constantly changing business climate, all managers must be able to manage change in their organisation. The most difficult aspect of this process is implementing change because of the implications for jobs, working relationships, rewards and working conditions. Managing Change Successfully advocates an active approach to learning and builds on our knowledge of how adults learn. This practical book will help students understand how to gain the co-operation of others in implementing change, and how to help themselves and others cope with the stress of change. Central to the learning process is the development of visual representations of the mental models that influence our thinking. This book encourages readers to review and modify their models and assumptions in the light of interactions with fellow managers and the practical knowledge derived from influential theories. The book is divided into three sections: An introduction to the learning approach and tools 15 case histories recounted by managers involved in implementing change in diverse settings Learning to use the experiences embedded in the cases and one's own experiences and theories in the literature, to develop effective leadership skills in implementing change This book is an essential aid to improving the ability to implement change successfully. It is especially suitable for managers attending executive development, MBA and other postgraduate programmes that include managing change.

Book Description

Written by two world-renowned researchers in molecular biology and illustrated with clarity and precision, this beautifully produced book serves as a text for students taking non-major courses in biology, genetics, molecular biology, and biotechnology. It is also ideal as a primer for self-study by the interested lay person. Four color insert.

Customer Reviews:

A very good intro.......2001-07-12

If you are the layman and want to get basics in genetics and molecular biology, this is a book for you. Berg and Singer explain the field in a very clear language, backed by good drawings and pictures wherever you need it. Having read the book mapping genomes, uncovering kinship, cloning, differences between eucaryotic and procaryotic genomes and virus strategies will be no mystery for you. The book encourages to dig deeper, and is a minimum for anyone wanting to get the feeling of what is going on in modern biology.

Book Description

People have lived in the Shetland Islands, the most remote of the British Isles, for ages thanks to the animals that shared their crofts, the moors and treeless hills, their livestock surviving on forage stunted by salt spray and weathering dark winters with 100 m.p.h. blizzards. These native beasts endure, rare breeds called Shetland Pony, Shetland Sheep, Shetland 'Coo,' Shetland Goose, Shetland Duck and more. Where else can one find so many indigenous farm animals - some endangered, some just plucked from the brink of extinction? As precious as they are unsung, they prove the value of adaptation, the miracles of evolution: A Shetland pony's hair pattern sheds rainwater from the flanks lest it soak the belly and chill it... Shetland sheep know the tides and browse the shores for seaweed at the ebb... This book celebrates Shetland's unique community. Chapters by experts describe Shetland Sheep, Cattle, Pony, Goose and more, revealing their special traits; a geneticist probes heredity; a historian plumbs the past; islanders offer their views and wisdom in this anthology of life.

Customer Reviews:

great little book.......2004-10-13

Great book with facts and history of all the sheatland breeds sheep, ponys, dogs, cattle, pigs and geese. good photos frome the early 20th century. I have Shetland Sheep and this is the first book with good information on there history I have found.

Average customer rating:
Charlie Sander's Tales from the Detroit Lions Sidelines
Charlie Sanders , and Larry Paladino
Manufacturer: Sports Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Reference | Miscellaneous | Sports | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

"I Don't Believe It!": Memories Of A Detroit Lions Fan

Barry Sanders Now You See Him: His Story in His Own Words

ASIN: 1582619107
Release Date: 2005-09-01

Product Description

Often when friends get together at home or perhaps at a sports bar on a Sunday afternoon during football season they'll trade interesting short stories about the game, acquired from memory or from reading. It's not necessarily a competition, but rather a way to impress others with what they believe is their wealth of knowledge. When it comes to swapping anecdotes about the Detroit Lions, even today's generation is going to know about some of the tales that have been handed down over the years about fabled quarterback Bobby Lane, or defensive tackle Alex Karras, or other legends who have worn the Honolulu blue and silver of that National Football League team that's been around for more than 70 years. To be sure, there are interesting anecdotes about some of the familiar faces from generations ago, and some from more recent stars, but what of the more obscure Lions? Many players, as well as coaches and officials, long lost to memory were rife with off-the-wall experiences worthy of any barroom or recreation room chips and beer party. Charlie Sanders's Tales from the Lions Sidelines records some of those anecdotes for posterity before they evaporate into the abyss of history. Many of the tales told here are first-hand from the memory of the great former Lions tight end. Some, also, are from the memory and records of coauthor Larry Paladino, a veteran sports writer who covered the Lions for a dozen years for the Associated Press and then for numerous sports publications. But perhaps the most interesting anecdotes- some funny, some serious, some sad-are the ones discovered through research in the old, crumbling pages of Lions' yearly newspaper scrapbooks. Regardless of what tales peak the interests of readers, we're certain there is a lot to fascinate-and to pass on-for those who read Sanders's tales.

Average customer rating:

Excellent book

Ummmm....are you serious

Excellent Book

I couldn't have written them all without this book!!

Heartfelt Thank Yous: Perfect Ways for Brides to Say Thank You (Clark, Beverly)
Beverly Clark
Manufacturer: Beverly Clark Collection
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Weddings | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

The Bride's Thank You Guide: Thank-You Writing Made Easy

The Bride's Thank-You Note Handbook

The Thank You Book: Hundreds of Clever, Meaningful, and Purposeful Ways to Say Thank You

The Bride & Groom Thank-You Guide: A Thoroughly Modern Manual for Expressing Your Gratitude-Quickly, Painlessly andPersonally!

What No One Tells the Bride: Surviving the Wedding, Sex After the Honeymoon

ASIN: 0934081190

Book Description

Being showered with wedding gifts is a wonderful experience, but making sure to thank all of the gift givers can be overwhelming and exhausting. Drawing on her vast experience in wedding etiquette, Beverly Clark offers readers information on how to write personalized thank-yous that will make every recipient feel special.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book.......2007-10-03

As a calligrapher in the wedding business I was looking for books to recommend to brides from my website. I found this book to be a little gem of information. It won't write your thank you's for you but it will guide you through the do's and don'ts using basic common sense. It has a helpful thesaurus and several sample notes to help you get past the writers block you will inevitably get when you sit down for this daunting task.

Ummmm....are you serious.......2007-04-26

This isn't the first time I've fallen for the mental game of "well, two people on Amazon loved it - it must be great" when purchasing an item. This book certainly falls into this category for me.

I read the book cover to cover in about two hours (nice feature), but only received two or three helpful "etiquette" pointers. Other than that, I feel you're buying a book of basic common sense when it comes to writing a thank you.

Thus said, I've always been a decent writer, so....this book is probably more helpful for people that have a hard time finding what to say and how to say it. I, personally, do not have many reservations in this area.

So, in short, this book was not useful to me, but, not to be completely negative, it might be a good inspiration for those that feel writing a thank you is an extremely daunting task - that's just not me. º

Excellent Book.......2006-01-10

This book was a wonderful tool I used when writing thank you notes after my wedding.I got many compliments on how well written they were from many of our guests. It has helped me write thank you notes since my wedding for many other occasions. I think it is important to write a "heartfelt" thank you note to someone who took the time to purchase a gift or give you their time. In fact, now I get irritated when I get a thank you note with 2 sentences!

I couldn't have written them all without this book!!.......2002-02-15

This book is fantastic! It helped me slog through the 179 thank you notes I had to write after my wedding. There were lots of great ideas of what to say and how to say it, and beleive me, after about the 25th thank you note, I needed all the help I could get. There is good solid, practical advice as to how to manage the thank you note writing task as well as inspirational advice to help you stay properly focused and, well, thankful. All in all, it was indespensable!

Book Description

In this superbly produced volume by Callaway Editions, Ltd.; the world's most successful bridal gown designer shares her thoughts and vision on weddings. Culled from years of experience in the wedding business, Vera Wang offers ideas on every aspect of the wedding day from invitations to flowers, from cakes to attendants.

Of course, a wedding book by Vera Wang wouldn't be complete without detail on the bride's gown. She explains how to select the right neckline, construction, length, bodice, and waistline for each bride's figure; what fabrics are appropriate for certain times of day; how to choose a headpiece, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

Just a coffee table book.......2006-05-10

Please don't buy this book if you need honest, reasonable tips for your wedding. This has some beautiful photographs and makes a nice coffee table book but it is waaay to huge to lug around as one may wish to do. Photos are nice but that is basically it. In addition, I wish it had more photographs of gowns. Doesn't have as many photographs of a variety of gowns as I had hoped.

nothing special.......2006-01-15

Same old stuff nothing different.

Makes Itself Helpful By Presenting Each Aspect Of A Successful Wedding In Minimalistic Sections.......2005-09-25

This book became the Bible of a certain bride I knew when she was getting married in a VERY big service and I was one of her friends involved early on in much of the planning. We had about three other mass market wedding books as well as a hired advisor/planner but those were quickly cast aside in favor of this one. Soon more faith was placed in this book than in tomorrow's sunrise. "What's Vera say about..." became the catch-phrase of the season.

Vera Wang and her staff not only create beautiful wedding dresses, but they know the occasion of wedding from A to Z. Fair warning, this book does pre-suppose that some serious money is going to be invested in the service and reception, but for those who are planning a once in a lifetime event they want special in every way, I know of no other source I'd put more faith in than this. Everything is compartmentalized and arranged so that the important aspects merit more attention than those that can simply wait till later. I also liked the "take it easy, things will be all right" message that kept popping up almost subliminally in the little reassurances that were scattered about. Those were really appreciated by those of us who were dealing with a perpetually freaked out bride, and in a few cases, made a real difference.

I'm in favor of something more minimalist when it comes to weddings, but for those who want an elaborate service and don't mind spending a lot of money to get it, then this is a book that prove worthwhile more times than you'll be able to count.

Elegant Fabulousness.......2005-09-15

Beautifully presented... a wonderful showcase of blissfully simple yet incredibly elegant gowns... also features glimpses into fabulous famous brides & their weddings.... very inspirational & truly lovely ....

A beautiful coffee-table style book with some helpful info........2003-02-14

As other reviewers have said, this is a gorgeous book. It's very oversized--larger even than most coffee-table style books--and has lovely pictures throughout which cover every aspect of wedding celebrations. Included, of course, are many samples of Wang's own work as a bridal gown designer as well as photos from her own wedding. As a wedding planner, however, this book is less useful. Although Wang does include her own commentary, some of which is interesting and helpful, there really isn't enough information for the book to be used as comprehensive planner. Furthermore, the organization of the book is somewhat confusing, as it does not follow a typical wedding planning chronology. Despite these issues, brides-to-be and others are likelyto enjoy this book, if only to "look at the pictures."

Average customer rating:

Vera Wang on Weddings
Vera Wang
Manufacturer: HARPERCOLLINS @ PUBLISHERS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SNWTUS

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