As the Seattle protests over the formation of the WTO showed all too clearly, there is a strong need for in-depth understanding of how the globalization of the world economy is affecting the economic, political, and social development of the individual nation-states. This book provides a detailed and authoritative examination of the on-going issues related to globalization, such as the increasingly unfair distribution of the world's resources, and how this phenomenon is involving wildly disparate countries. While the main focus of the book is the United States, with its flexible markers, wide social differences, and its breath-taking level of economic expansion, extensive attention is also given to the other major players, including the European Union and those central and eastern European nations who very much want to become member countries, as well as China, India, Japan, Russia, and Southeast Asia.

Table of Contents:
Remembering Adam Zwass: 1913-2001 -- List of Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Genesis, Evolution, and Critique -- The Collapse of Soviet Communism Promotes Capitalism to a Universal System -- Globalization as a Consequence of the Three Industrial Revolutions That Restructured Society -- WTO Globalization and the Protests in Seattle -- The Discrepancy Between Developing and Industrial Countries as the Principal Obstacle to Globalization -- Globalization Versus Nation-State? -- The Partners in Globalization, Big and Small -- 2. Transnational Corporations and Competition Among the Great Powers in the Global Economy -- The Globalized System Requires Adequate Coordination -- Vladimir Putin as Protagonist of a More-State-Less-Market Policy -- Low Efficiency of Western Financial Assistance -- 3. Demographic Explosion in a Differentiating Global Economy -- The Population Is Growing More Rapidly in Democratic India; the Standard of Living Is Rising More Rapidly in Totalitarian China -- Universal Capitalism: Product and Driving Force of the Global Economy—with Many Faces -- The United States, Leader of the Global Economy The -- Thorny Path to the “Third Way” -- Differentiation of Social Services: The Consequence of Different Steering Models -- The Creation of the Currency Union Does Not Mitigate Tensions -- The Disintegration of the Soviet Empire Has Not Freed the World of the Risk of Major Wars -- Crisis-Ridden Ukraine -- Central Europe on Its Way to the European Union -- 4. The Prospects of Developing Countries in the Global Economy -- Southeast Asia in Crisis -- India: A Parliamentary Democracy with Antiquated Social and Economic Structures -- The Difference Between Global Capitalism in South America and North America -- South American Roots of Economic Shock Therapy -- Chile’s Economic System: A Prime Example for South America -- Mexico: Between NAFTA and the Rest of America The Players and Forces in Globalization -- 5. The European Monetary Union Introduces a New Era: Monetary and Power Relations in the Global Economy -- Changing Power Relations -- Capitalism and Democracy: Positive and Negative Aspects -- Absence of a Real Challenger to the United States -- 6. The Global World Economy Tends Toward Universalization of Economic Policymaking -- The Middle Ground Does Not Lead to Success -- Monetary Union: A Milestone in European History -- The Euro: A Challenge to the U.S. Dollar? -- The Euro’s Weakness -- U.S. Experts Predict a Positive Future for the Euro -- 7. The Eastern Enlargement of the European Union as a Precondition for the Continent’s Economic and Political Unity -- The Gap Between the EU and Eastern Europe -- Assessment of the Central and East European Economies -- The Costs of Admission to the EU -- 8. The Countries of the Former Soviet Union -- Crisis-Ridden Russia and Its Ambitions to Be a World Power -- Non-Russian Republics of the Former Soviet Union -- The Central Asian Republics Want Closer Contacts with Foreign Powers -- Prospects in the Post-Soviet Region -- 9. The Bretton Woods Institutions: Better Division of Labor But No Real Reform -- How Does Horst Kohler View His Role as the Head of the IMF? -- The Colorful Mix of Protesters Against the Bretton Woods Institutions -- Experts Engage in Charged Debates with the Opponents of Globalization -- The IMF Is Optimistic About the Future of the World Economy -- Will There Be a Successor to America in Its Role as Leader of the World Economy? -- Transatlantic Mega-Concems and Regional Integration Groups as the Backbone of the Global Economy -- Conclusion: The Uncertain Future -- Notes -- Index -- About the Author.