22 Ideas to Fix the World: Conversations with the World's Foremost Thinkers

by Piotr Dutkiewicz (Editor), Richard Sakwa (Editor)

Overview

The aftershocks of the 2008 financial crisis still reverberate throughout the globe. Markets are down, unemployment is up, and nations from Greece to Ireland find their very infrastructure on the brink of collapse. There is also a crisis in the management of global affairs, with the institutions of global governance challenged as never before, accompanied by conflicts ranging from Syria, to Iran, to Mali. Domestically, the bases for democratic legitimacy, social sustainability, and environmental adaptability are also changing. In this unique volume from the World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilizations and the Social Science Research Council, some of the world’s greatest minds—from Nobel Prize winners to long-time activists—explore what the prolonged instability of the so-called Great Recession means for our traditional understanding of how governments can and should function. Through interviews that are sure to spark lively debate, 22 Ideas to Fix the World presents both analysis of past geopolitical events and possible solutions and predictions for the future.

The book surveys issues relevant to the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Speaking from a variety of perspectives, including economic, social, developmental, and political, the discussions here increase our understanding of what’s wrong with the world and how to get it right. Interviewees explore topics like the Arab Spring, the influence of international financial organizations, the possibilities for the growth of democracy, the acceleration of global warming, and how to develop enforceable standards for market and social regulation. These inspiring exchanges from some of our most sophisticated thinkers on world policy are honest, brief, and easily understood, presenting thought-provoking ideas in a clear and accessible manner that cuts through the academic jargon that too often obscures more than it reveals. 22 Ideas to Fix the World is living history in the finest sense—a lasting chronicle of the state of the global community today.

Interviews with: Zygmunt Bauman, Shimshon Bichler & Jonathan Nitzan, Craig Calhoun, Ha-Joon Chang, Fred Dallmayr, Mike Davis, Bob Deacon, Kemal Dervis, Jiemian Yang, Peter J. Katzenstein, Ivan Krastev, Will Kymlicka, Manuel F. Montes, José Antonio Ocampo, Vladimir Popov, Jospeh Stiglitz, Olzhas Suleimenov, Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Immanuel Wallerstein, Paul Watson, Vladimir Yakunin, Muhammad Yunus

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781479860982
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	09/09/2013
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Piotr Dutkiewicz is Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Center for Governance and Public Policy at Carleton Universityin Ottawa, Canada.

Richard Sakwa is Professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent and an Associate Fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Piotr Dutkiewicz
1
MUHAMMAD YUNUS with Piotr Dutkiewicz
2
WILL KYMLICKA with Raffaele Marchetti
3
JOSEPH STIGLITZ with Shari Spiegel
4
HA-JOON CHANG with Manuel F. Montes
5
JOSÉ ANTONIO OCAMPO with Vladimir Popov
6
PAUL WATSON with Jan Dutkiewicz
7
MIKE DAVIS with Joe Day
8
OLZHAS SULEIMENOV with Rustem Zhangozha
9
VLADIMIR YAKUNIN with Vladimir Kulikov
10
IMMANUEL WALLERSTEIN with Kevan Harris
11
ZYGMUNT BAUMAN with Vincent Della Sala
12
BOB DEACON with Rianne Mahon
13
PETER J. KATZENSTEIN with Raffaele Marchetti
14
CRAIG CALHOUN with Monika Krause
15
IVAN KRASTEV with Richard Sakwa
16
FRED DALLMAYR with Ghoncheh Tazmini
17
MANUEL F. MONTES with Adrian Pabst
18
SHIMSHON BICHLER AND JONATHAN NITZAN with Piotr Dutkiewicz
19
JOMO KWAME SUNDARAM with Vladimir Popov
KEMAL DERVIS with Kemal Kirisci
21
VLADIMIR POPOV with Piotr Dutkiewicz
22
JIEMIAN YANG with Li Xin
Conclusion
Richard Sakwa
Notes
Notes on the Contributors
Index

Editorial Reviews

09/16/2013
Political scientists Dutkiewicz and Sakwa present conversations with 23 leading social scientists about stressors facing the international financial system. The sections are often short on specifics and rely on highly abstract arguments. The specialists come from a variety of regions and backgrounds, but the majority espouse some form of heterodox or socialist economics. Some focus on their own particular hobby horses; Immanuel Wallerstein is content to discuss the decline of American hegemony but what he's really interested in is the hyphen in ‘world-systems analysis': "t's taken me twenty or thirty years to get people to understand how important the hyphen really is." Mike Davis, meanwhile, argues that: "We stand on the precipice of a synchronized global recession that may yet dwarf the 1930s," while Peter Katznelson contends that "e are all more or less blind, trying to figure out whether the trunk of the elephant is its tail." More than any of the ideas presented, one factor makes this book stand out: none of the "world's foremost thinkers" are women. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"A forward-facing collection of interviews with today's foremost thinkers."

UTNE Reader

"The role of government in solving or causing problems is a recurring focus in '22 Ideas to Fix the World,' an anthology of conversations with notable academics and activists, edited by political scientists Piotr Dutkiewicz and Richard Sakwa."

The Washington Post - Carlos Lozada

"All contributors show an in-depth understanding of the present and future outlook for global business, geopolitics, and environmental health, and the dynamics at work within each. Readers who seek intellectually rigorous assessments of where the international community is heading will find 22 Ideas to Fix the Worldto be a very rewarding read."

The Futurist

"The world can be a better place. And 22 well known individuals from Whale Wars star Paul Watson to World Banker Joseph Stiglitz give their take on whats wrong with our societies in a new book called 22 Ideas To Fix The World. . . The book points out where to look and where to begin to contribute to the dialogue. Assuming no remedy is meaningless,22 Ideas to Fix the World succeeds in its task."

Forbes

"It's a fine book, full of smart, engaging, and provocative suggestions for instigating social change."

The Feminist Wire

"The world can be a better place. And 22 well known individuals from Whale Wars star Paul Watson to World Banker Joseph Stiglitz give their take on what’s wrong with our societies in a new book called 22 Ideas To Fix The World . . . The book points out where to look and where to begin to contribute to the dialogue. Assuming no remedy is meaningless, 22 Ideas to Fix the World succeeds in its task."- Forbes

"Dutkiewicz and Sakwa have edited a remarkable collection of interviews with preeminent 'thinkers' to answer the titular challenge . . . the contributors' expertise, depth, and accessibility are unimpeachable."- Library Journal

"A forward-facing collection of interviews with today's foremost thinkers."- UTNE Reader

"The role of government in solving or causing problems is a recurring focus in '22 Ideas to Fix the World,' an anthology of conversations with notable academics and activists, edited by political scientists Piotr Dutkiewicz and Richard Sakwa."-Carlos Lozada, The Washington Post

"All contributors show an in-depth understanding of the present and future outlook for global business, geopolitics, and environmental health, and the dynamics at work within each. Readers who seek intellectually rigorous assessments of where the international community is heading will find 22 Ideas to Fix the World to be a very rewarding read."- The Futurist

"It's a fine book, full of smart, engaging, and provocative suggestions for instigating social change."- The Feminist Wire

From the Publisher

09/01/2013
Dutkiewicz (director, Ctr. for Governance & Public Policy, Carleton Univ.) and Sakwa (Russian & European politics, Univ. of Kent) have edited a remarkable collection of interviews with preeminent "thinkers" to answer the titular challenge. The thinkers, each interviewed either by one of the editors or another "thinker," reflect on global political and economic problems, focusing on the time since the 2008 financial crisis. However, few of the 22 participants offer any "fix" or even a consensus about what the world's problems are. Some of them, e.g., Nobel prize-winning economists Muhammad Yunus and Joseph Stiglitz, provide relevant updates of their own past work. Others, primarily academics such as Peter Katzenstein and Mike Davis, offer original "big picture" ideas on capitalism and society. Finally, some, including Will Kymlicka and coauthors Shimshon Bichler, the Israeli political economist, and Jonathan Nitzan (with Bichler, Capital as Power), treat, respectively, the state of multiculturalism and current economic thought. The interviews present a nice mix of emphases on public policy, society, and individual countries. The attention to Russia, China, and less-developed countries is especially welcome. VERDICT Some readers will find a left-of-center bias in the choice of contributors, yet the contributors' expertise, depth, and accessibility are unimpeachable. Both general and academic readers will find much of value.—Zachary Irwin, Behrend Coll., Penn State Univ., Erie

Library Journal