Description
This book is a guide to claims about the proper role of government and markets in a global economy. Moving between systematic comparison of nineteen rich democracies and debate about what the United States can do to restore a more civilized, egalitarian and fair society, Harold L. Wilensky tells us how six of these countries got on a low road to economic progress and which components of their labor-crunch strategy are uniquely American. He provides an overview of the impact of major dimensions of globalization, only one of which – the interaction of the internationalization of finance and the rapid increase in the autonomy of central banks – undermines either national sovereignty or job security, labor standards, and the welfare state. Although Wilensky views American policy and politics through the lens of globalization, he concludes that the nation-state remains the center of personal identity, social solidarity and political action.
Table of Contents
Part I. Globalization, Public Policy, and the Wellbeing of People: 1. The welfare state as the center of public finance and political conflict; 2. Energy policy and performance: US and the world; 3. What tradeoffs are good and bad for the economy?: domestic structures and policies that permit adaptation to globalization; 4. Retrenchment of the welfare state?: the fate of 'cutback budgeting' in Italy, France, Germany, the US, UK and New Zealand; 5. Pensions coverage: US health care remains unique; 6. The impact of 'globalization': an overview; Part II. Moving the US. off the Low Road: Lessons from Abroad: 7. Low road versus high road: American exceptionalism; 8. Policy implications for the United States: how to get off the low road.
