Edge of Chaos

Title:

Edge of Chaos

Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth-and How to Fix It

Author:

Moyo, Dambisa

Subject:

Nonfiction

Politics

Business

Description:

From an internationally acclaimed economist, a provocative call to jump-start economic growth by aggressively overhauling liberal democracy Around the world, people who are angry at stagnant wages and growing inequality have rebelled against established governments and turned to political extremes. Liberal democracy, history's greatest engine of growth, now struggles to overcome unprecedented economic headwinds — from aging populations to scarce resources to unsustainable debt burdens. Hobbled by short-term thinking and ideological dogma, democracies risk falling prey to nationalism and protectionism that will deliver declining living standards. In Edge of Chaos, Dambisa Moyo shows why economic growth is essential to global stability, and why liberal democracies are failing to produce it today. Rather than turning away from democracy, she argues, we must fundamentally reform it. Edge of Chaos presents a radical blueprint for change in order to galvanize growth and ensure the survival of democracy in the twenty-first century.

Publisher:

Hachette Audio

Basic Books

Date:

2018/04/24

Digital Format:

LIBBY AUDIOBOOK

MP3

Language:

English

ISBN:

9781549168307

Summary

From an internationally acclaimed economist, a provocative call to jump-start economic growth by aggressively overhauling liberal democracy

Around the world, people who are angry at stagnant wages and growing inequality have rebelled against established governments and turned to political extremes. Liberal democracy, history's greatest engine of growth, now struggles to overcome unprecedented economic headwinds -- from aging populations to scarce resources to unsustainable debt burdens. Hobbled by short-term thinking and ideological dogma, democracies risk falling prey to nationalism and protectionism that will deliver declining living standards.

In Edge of Chaos , Dambisa Moyo shows why economic growth is essential to global stability, and why liberal democracies are failing to produce it today. Rather than turning away from democracy, she argues, we must fundamentally reform it. Edge of Chaos presents a radical blueprint for change in order to galvanize growth and ensure the survival of democracy in the twenty-first century.

Author Notes

Dambisa Moyo received an undergraduate degree in chemistry and an MBA in finance from American University, an MPA from Harvard University, and a PhD in economics from Oxford University. She was a consultant for the World Bank and an investment banker specializing in emerging markets at Goldman Sachs. She has written several books including Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa, How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly--and the Stark Choices Ahead, and Winner Take All: China's Race for Resources and What It Means for the World. Her work regularly appears in economic and finance-related publications including the Financial Times, the Economist, and the Wall Street Journal. In 2009, she was named by Time as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World and was named to the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders Forum. In 2012 his title Winner Take All China's Push for Resources and What It Means for the World made The New York Times Best Seller List.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (1)

Library Journal Review

Since the 2008 financial crisis, most of the world hasn't exactly been living large. Economist Moyo (Dead Aid; Winner Take All) has some ideas on how to change that, arguing that in the past, liberal democracies of the kind found in the West were the best situated to deliver economic growth. However, in the new scheme of things, other political systems-notably authoritarian China-are delivering that growth. Economic development is a prerequisite to political stability, so the imperative for the United States and the West to reclaim their economic leadership is not simply to beef up the bottom line. Moyo drafts a blueprint for spurring growth by focusing on long-term goals instead of short-term, politically expedient fixes. She presents a spot-on analysis of the forces stagnating economic growth-and her proposals for political solutions, such as extended terms and performance incentives for elected officials, are compelling up to a point. However, some of her ideas (e.g., mandatory voting and weighted voting) will not likely sit well with the American public's interpretation of agency and egalitarianism in the political realm. VERDICT An intriguing partnership of economic policy and political reforms for solving stagnating economic growth in the West.-Carol Elsen, Univ. of Wisconsin, Whitewater Libs. © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.