Reviews for Against the dead hand

The average rating for Against the dead hand based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2007-08-03 00:00:00 Jeff Greenfeld First of, by way of full disclosure, I was forced to read this book for an economics class. And I didn't really like it. Until I finished it, at which time I liked it a little better. This might be the same effect that causes me to remember former presidents more fondly after their funerals, I don't know. The authors main point is really very simple- free markets are better for society than "collectivist" systems. (Collectivist( )is a term the author uses over and over, but one that you rarely hear down here on the ground) He goes on to cite historical situations and claim that they support his point. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't, but his take on political and social situations, and what he presumes to be cause and effect relationships with economic situations, are interesting; the real truth is that I couldn't put down the book, even while disagreeing with (and occasionally disliking) the author. Mr Lindsey has another point, a result of the first: "Globalization", the increasing freedom of movement for capital and goods around the world, is both inevitable and desirable, and it is only through free trade and the cosmopolitan attitudes associated with it that lasting peace can be achieved. And he might have a point. My disagreements with him tend to be associated with ommission- his view of Global Capitalism is a tad rosy, and it rarely takes responsibility for its actions. I wouldn't swear to it, but I do not remember him ever using the word "Sweatshop", for example. He may just have been spelling it differently ("e-x-p-a-n-d-e-d-e-m-p-l-o-y-m-e-n-t" or something similar), but he never addresses the dark side of unfettered capitalism to my satisfaction. Nor does he sufficiently contemplate the idea that socialist revoltions in asia and europe might be a result of the economic liberalism of the victorian age. Just sayin, that's all. So anyway, there it is. It's a good read, if you like that kind of thing, and despite the many and multifarious ways in which the author is fundamentally wrong, his opinions and arguments are worth reading, if only sharpen your own veiwpoint.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-09-06 00:00:00 Christopher Bird I couldn't put this book down once I started it. It's a very engaging, well written book explaining the importance of globalization in our forward economic progress and the barriers to globalization (the dead hand) that still attempt to block globalization. If you don't understand already, this book helps you realize just how small the world really is and how important it is that we all work together to promote what is in all our best economic interests.