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Common Wealth
Book

Common Wealth

Economics for a Crowded Planet

Penguin, 2009
First Edition: 2008 подробнее...


Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

Famed economist Jeffrey Sachs manages to deliver pessimistic news in an optimistic way. Yes, the Earth faces dire threats from global warming, poverty, war, deforestation and mass extinctions. Yet Sachs asserts that these severe problems are manageable. Fixing them will cost $840 billion – a massive amount indeed, but, as Sachs argues, only 2.4% of the rich world’s gross national product. Sachs doesn’t shy away from politically touchy pronouncements. He argues against the U.S. war in Iraq and for legalized abortion. Still, throughout the fray, his book strikes the unlikely balance of delivering a message that’s both frightening and promising. getAbstract recommends this book to anyone seeking insight into the world’s most pressing problems.

Take-Aways

  • As the world grows ever more crowded, chaotic and dangerous, the global ecology teeters on the brink of collapse.
  • Humans are consuming the Earth’s resources at an unprecedented pace.
  • Formerly poor nations – China, India and Brazil – are growing at a staggering rate, boosting incomes but also accelerating environmental damage.

About the Author

Internationally known economist Jeffrey Sachs directs The Earth Institute at Columbia University. He’s a special adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals. Sachs also wrote The End of Poverty.


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