The problem with money.

The premise of this new work by economist Lester Thurow is that there are no viable alternatives to capitalism and, for that reason, all economies will inevitably be subsumed into the global market. Thurow argues, too, that globalization has reached a crucial crossroads: Either the process can be left to advance on its own, or the opportunity can be seized to create economic systems to reduce instability and allow developing countries to prosper. This is the moment, he emphasizes, to "create a global economy that will eliminate the defects" of capitalist hegemony at the global level.

According to Thurow, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the way capital jumps over or simply erases borders increases socioeconomic inequality between the so-called First and Third Worlds, and it causes financial crises to occur more frequently. Globalization, he writes, has fed revolts and is one of the factors behind the surge in terrorism against Western cultures. At the same time, the huge U.S. trade deficit is becoming an enormous threat to the dollar, putting the U.S. economy in danger and provoking serious global economic imbalances.

In regards to orthodox economists, who argue in favor of leaving these economic processes alone, that is, to allow the "invisible hand of the market" to correct matters, Thurow reminds us that imbalances often stem from mistakes made by governments, not as a natural result of the advance of free markets. Consequently, he writes, the United States can choose to guide globalization, with the end of extending the benefits of the process more equally.

In this light, Thurow offers an endless array of practical ideas for governments, corporations, economists and the general public. By way of example, he says that the governments of some countries, such as Ireland and China, have taken the concept of globalization seriously and have placed their economies in a good position for growth. As a result, fortune has smiled on these bold political leaders. Meanwhile, countries like Japan are moving closer to stagnation and decreasing prosperity due to the absence of flexible and opportune policies at the governmental level.

Thurow is convincing on certain issues, like the failures of the global economy, but other aspects of the book seem less precise, like the solution he offers to the problem of how pharmaceutical companies handle patent issues in developing countries. On that, he writes, governments could take charge of the patents. At the same time, the book is focused above all on the way globalization (or the growing pains of globalization, to echo Stiglitz) could affect the United States. Thurow, in effect, explains the importance for the world's biggest economy in supporting a more equal international system.

The author's intentions aren't strictly patriotic. Reducing the inequalities of globalization and leveling the playing field so that other nations can reach a high level of development is, in the end, good for the United States and good for the rest of the world. Perhaps, the boldness mentioned in the book's title is what is lacking.

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