Global Capitalism
International trade at unprecedented levels, millions of people migrating yearly in search of jobs, the world's economies more open to one another than ever before--such was the global economy in 1900. Then as now, many people considered globalization to be inevitable and irreversible. Yet the entire edifice collapsed in a few months in 1914. Globalization is a choice, not a fact--a result of policy decisions and the politics that shape them. Political scientist Frieden's history explores the golden age of globalization during the early years of the twentieth century, its swift collapse in the crises of 1914-45, the divisions of the Cold War world, and the turn again toward global integration at the end of the century. Full of character and event, it deepens our understanding of the century just past and sheds light on our current situation.--From publisher description.
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4recommend
6mentions
4people
2016–2020years
83% recommend17% neutral
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- Take a look at the Economics & Finance videos on Khan Academy [1]. I have only watched some of them, but those I watched were good.
You could read some standard macroeconomics textbooks, but I'd advise against doing that, since they are expensive and unnecessarily formalized using elementary math, which doesn't really add anything to the material itself. There's however a good book on monetary economics by Mishkin called Economics of Money, Banking and Financial Markets, which is really good, but the Khan Academy videos on banking mostly cover the same material.
Personally I've learned a lot from reading economic history. Some books I can recommend are: Eichengreen - Globalizing Capital: A History of the International Monetary System
Frieden - Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century
Soros - Alchemy of Finance (skip the first couple of chapters on his reflexivity theory, but the 'diary' chapters are a gold mine)
Ferguson - The Ascent of Money (probably a good book to start, the others might be harder to completely grasp for a beginner)
Some other good book I can recommend (not history books) are: The Secrets of Economic Indicators: Hidden Clues to Future Economic Trends and Investment Opportunities by Baumohl
Inside the House of Money by Drobny (mostly about global macro trading, but you would learn a lot about economics along the way, would only recommend this after having built up some basic knowledge though)
Most importantly you should start reading the Economist, which has really high quality economics and finance articles, but is released only weekly and offers a good trade off with regards to time commitment and knowledge about what's going on in the world. Note that you will probably need to know some basics in order to understand everything, but you can look up things along the way. Economics really isn't hard to learn if you have a technical background.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy/playlists?view=50&s...
- Yes, we shouldn't forget that this one is the second globalization, not the first, as you say, the first was before the First World War.
I'm reading now "Global Capitalism: It's Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century" by Jeffry A. Frieden, and it's fascinating to see how history really rhymes.
- Aside from strict econ, finance and trading books, I'd heartily suggest economic history.
One of my personal favorites:
Global Capitalism, Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century by Jeffry Frieden.
https://www.amazon.com/Global-Capitalism-Fall-Twentieth-Cent...
From the Journal of International Eeconomics' review:
“Perhaps the greatest merit of Frieden's book is that it allows the reader to see the themes of winners and losers, risk and uncertainty, integration, economic growth and technological change emerge clearly from the deep forest of contemporary history. One gains a greater appreciation for the timelessness of these phenomena and how to begin to get a grip on the bigger picture of policy making and the global economy.”
I found that quote on the author's site. http://scholar.harvard.edu/jfrieden/pages/global-capitalism-...
- "Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century" by Jeffry Frieden is a masterpiece. It will give you a thorough, expansive view of the global financial world - the major events and trends - as they unfolded over the last century. This book is regularly assigned as a text book in Ivy League economic history classes, so even though it's short on math/ econometrics, it's a serious work.
- If people enjoy reading history like this, I highly recommend Jeffrey Frieden's "Global Capitalism: It's Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century."
Overall, I think a dimension perhaps lacking in PG's otherwise fantastic writeup is that this 'fragmentation' opens up a space of freedom. I mean, our society basically interpolates individuals (younger generations at least) as existential subjects - no set path on what we should do with our lives, no God, no religion, we have to make our own meaning. Painful and difficult, but a source of freedom either way. Today I can travel as a digital nomad, found a startup, work for a rocketship, work for a stable, high paying company, freelance, or switch careers altogether. I get to choose who I associate with and date and marry (and it's even acceptable to not marry), while choosing from a much larger, more open pool, and for the most part, I get to choose who I am. Not everyone has access to this freedom, but it's still the point in human history when the largest number of people have ever had access to this freedom.
- "Countries that trade with each other don't go to war against each other."
This is from 'Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century' by Jeffry A. Frieden :
'In 1900 international trade reached unprecedented levels and the world's economies were more open to one another than ever before. Then as now, many people considered globalization to be inevitable and irreversible. Yet the entire edifice collapsed in a few months in 1914'.
I recommend this book to however think, as I did before, that globalization is a new thing.
