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Agriculture and Human Values 21: 425426, 2004.Book reviewIn Defense of Globalization. By Jagdish Bhagwati.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2004, 308 pp.,
Hb, ISBN 0-19-517025-3AMITRAJEET A. BATABYALDepartment of Economics, Rochester Institute of
Technology, Rochester, NY 14623-5604, USAAmitrajeet A. Batabyal is Arthur J. Gosnell Professor
of Economics at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
His research interests include development, environmental, and natural resource economics, and the interface of economics with philosophy and political
science. He has published over 310 books, book chapters, book reviews, and journal articles in these areas.There is no gainsaying the fact that in contemporary
times, the phenomenon of globalization has become
both widespread and controversial. Critics of globalization have alleged in no uncertain terms that this phenomenon is responsible for a whole host of problems,
including a decline in the salience of national governments, environmental degradation, and the increasing
power of multinational corporations. However, is the
actual picture concerning the effects of globalization
truly as saturnine as the critics would have us believe?
Further, is it possible that globalization results in positive effects? Finally, is it the case that the positive
impacts of globalization outweigh the negative effects?
In this book, Jagdish Bhagwati sheds light on these
sorts of questions.Chapter 1 begins the proceedings with an interesting
discussion of the reasons for the dislike of globalization
by young people. As the author correctly points out,
globalization is frequently pilloried by young people in
part because many among the young see capitalism as
a system that cannot address meaningfully questions of
social justice (p. 14). In addition, it is noted that many
young people who oppose globalization have frequently
been educated in elds where...