Reviews for Russian-Eurasian Renaissance?: U.S. Trade and Investment in Russia and Eurasia

The average rating for Russian-Eurasian Renaissance?: U.S. Trade and Investment in Russia and Eurasia based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-08-22 00:00:00 Stephanie Boyden This book is an indispensable resource to those concerned with political economy, particularly those who are interested in the development of American Economic ideology. More argues with great brevity that the importance of a balanced budget does not lie in economic utility, but win symbolic importance that alters depending upon whatever economic ideology is accepted by voters, politicians, business elites, and bureaucratic institutions like the Federal Reserve. Collins makes a great case that it is "the politics of Growth" that directs the budgetary process and the public debate regarding it. Essentially, technological restlessness, America's liberal foundations and the rise of Keynesian economics/technocracy has resulted in a economic ideology based upon the idea that unbounded economic growth is the fundamental indicator of a healthy economy as opposed to growth within the means of a community; psychologically and financially. "More" is even greater when one applies it to political theory and sociology. For instance, More's insistence that the budget reflects the interests of competing power structures rather than objective, critical debate makes more sense if one views it from a Foulcaultian perspective as it suggests that no one "controls" the budgetary process, but that the budget is a result of power relations. Moreover, this serves as a great gateway into thinkers such as Karl Polanyi, Max Weber, and Hannah Arendt, all of whom agree that economic doctrines such as the one accepted in American society is ultimately hazardous psychologically, economically, spiritually, and intellectually. Definitely read this book.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-07-08 00:00:00 Mark D Bailey Indispensable resource on the history of America's postwar political obsession with growth -- dated now only because it was published nearly 20 years ago and therefore could not have foreseen the way the growth story would come to a coughing, sputtering, stumbling halt after the financial crisis of 2008. The post-2008 story vindicates Collins's thesis that American politicians have been unable to conceive a form of post-growth politics -- at least not one that would both be electable and legitimate.