I just read Daniel Cohen’s Globalization and Its Enemies (MIT Press, 2006). (This edition is a translation of Cohen’s 2004 French-language book, La Mondialisation et ses ennemis.)
It’s a bizarre little book, offering many unique and important insights mixed with archaic Marxist assertions. I read it as soon as I bought it because its back cover features glowing praise from William Easterly, who calls the book “A must read.” While I profited from reading the book, I don’t recommend it as highly as does Bill. (But, Café patron, you should put more trust in Bill’s judgment than in mine.) Here’s one of my favorite insights in Cohen’s book:
Europe offers one important lesson. It shows that economic integration does not at all entail the eradication of cultural diversity. In view of the diversity of the Swedes, the Italians, the Germans, and the French, or even the Portuguese and the Spanish, one should not fear that an integrated global market erases the world’s plurality [p. 136].
Excellent observation.
