False Dawn: The Delusions of Global Capitalism

Customer Reviews

All the same, "False Dawn" is likely to produce mixed feelings. Its eight-fold argument is hard to keep track of, rendering interesting observations seem like unnecessary transgressions. Mr. Gray's fluid writing style that consists of short paragraphs makes for an enjoyable read, but at times, speed and brevity come at the expense of depth; all too often, the reader is likely to demand more from the book.

Still, the argument itself has merits, particularly in showing how free markets need a strong government to engineer them (as opposed to them springing naturally). Mr. Gray's continuous dialectic between the economic imperatives of a capitalist system and its social consequences is surely to excite skeptics of liberalism and trouble its supporters. From the perspective of political theory, Mr. Gray's contribution is invaluable.

But as with the arguments of many skeptics, Mr. Gray's overlooks certain uncomfortable realities. At the heart of Mr. Gray's thesis is the tradeoff between the flexibility of markets and the human need for economic security. For Mr. Gray, capitalism's very dynamism is likely to lead to its fall. At the same time, Mr. Gray pays scant reference either to the need for security itself or to the political shortfalls of providing security and social cohesion. After all, the engineering of markets came to save failing economies. It is not at all clear where Mr. Gray would have us go if not towards free markets.

As the argument moves from political theory to economics, its appeal lessens. The economics of globalization (bad capitalism driving out good capitalism) are at the center of Mr. Gray's thesis. What is absent, however, is a comprehensive review of the economic literature which takes issue with this position. Absent such a refutation of the opposite side of the argument, Mr. Gray invites his readers to dismiss his arguments all too easily.

In the end, Mr. Gray makes a (stretched) comparison between Marxism and liberalism. It is true that they are both products of the Enlightenment whose belief in reason and progress is paramount; and it is true that both need strong governments to work. But the scope of government is different under them. What is also different is the benefits that each system gives to its people-both might bring dislocation, but liberalism has many merits, while Marxism had few.

In fact, Mr. Gray's unwillingness to recognize how markets increase human agency more so than political participation surfaces as the primary drawback of his argument. And, Mr. Gray's overlooking of how the market too can provide for economic security might displease some forward-looking economic thinkers.

But for all its shortcomings, "False Dawn" is as good a book as one can find about the potential drawbacks of the global economic system. Whether Mr. Gray's prediction that anarchy is the next stage in human development comes true is another matter; but, if anarchy comes, Mr. Gray will have told us why.

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