The Globalization Paradox reads like a straight-forward, well-written essay on contemporary obstacles to globalization. Rodrik approaches issues of economics and politics in a way that make it easy for the reader to conceptualize their fundamentals and understand their impact on our modern world, particularly the concepts of sovereignty, supranational governance, and democracy.
Rodrik certainly has his own opinions and shares them throughout his writing but he does so in such a skillful way that I never felt my own opinions were looked down upon, even where I disagreed with his reasoning. In fact, I found myself reassessing my own values and finding more conviction in them than I had before – now, with the knowledge and data to back them up (again, even where I disagreed with his reasoning). It’s one of the few books I’ve ever read that had me drawing comparisons between the ideas I was reading on its pages and my own life and experiences. As soon as I finished it, I genuinely felt as though I had suddenly become a more intelligent, civic-minded person.
So, if you have any annoyingly-aware-and-universally-intelligent coworkers you’d like to finally have the upper-hand on; or any family get-togethers where you think you’ll need to prove yourself in some minuscule way, read it. I can guarantee it won’t fail you.
Alternatively, if you have any events coming up where you think you might need a unique gift, [unashamed plug] please check out the limited spring book listings I have in my shop.
H O L L Y + O A T E S 