The book sums up the right priorities for mankind in the next 42 years, but...

a blueprint to eliminate abject poverty and avoid environmental disaster | Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet | Jeffrey D. Sachs

books:


	• Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet Jeffrey D. Sachs Penguin Press HC, The, 2008 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 15 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

An Optimistic Sachs Valiantly Makes Sustainable Development More Than a Pipe Dream

In a lucidly written book reflecting a grave urgency, economist Jeffrey Sachs (The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time) states that by the year 2050, the world will have 9.2 billion inhabitants, a traumatizing increase from the 2.6 billion people we have now. It's an unprecedented population explosion that everyone agrees will prove toxic in combination with the perils of climate change. Coastal urban zones will become so densely inhabited that the inevitable Katrina-level cyclones will be all the more devastating, while obesity and heart disease become more pervasive. Even within such a fatalistic vision, it will probably strike many readers as sacrilege that Sachs has taken the stance that free market forces will not overcome the sustainability crisis that faces our planet today. Currently as Director of Columbia University's Earth Institute and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the author lends a uniquely global perspective to what he views as the inevitable fate of humanity should we not change course immediately.

Sachs believes there are three steps necessary in realizing sustainable development that could avert certain tragedy from dramatic climate change and global warming. The first consists of bolstering sustainable technologies within a short period of time and on a global scale. The second is to take the necessary preventative measures to stabilize global population, especially in Africa. The third step is to minimize national borders to help developing countries to escape poverty. His roadmap indicates that the cost to achieve humanity's shared objectives is comparatively low when considering the dire consequences. He believes the cost of stabilizing levels of carbon in the atmosphere will amount to less than one-percent of the world's annual income. Eradicating poverty will prove marginally more costly since measures to slow population growth and raise standards of living in the poorest countries will cost the rich nations two-to-three percent of their gross national product.

The author makes a compelling argument that there is no shortage of resources on Earth, and in fact, the barriers we face are self-imposed as they reflect our limited capacity to cooperate. Sachs aims much of the blame on recent U.S. administrations, which have bypassed the global leadership responsibilities of the previous generations to fund wasteful wars with no clear purpose. Meanwhile, he shows that China and India have emerged as the great new powers and have to be accommodated to be a true part of the international system, preferably without the need for a world war. There is no doubt that Sachs provides a powerfully compelling argument, but it also seems overly optimistic. Finding a common truth among nations and international organizations with singular objectives has proven elusive, and there is no evidence that a major epiphany appears nowhere in sight.

The subtext within Sachs's seemingly logical book can come across periodically as over-simplistic, especially as he keeps reiterating his strongly-held belief that we could solve all the problems we face if only we all acted in a rational manner. However, he ignores the simple fact that emotions like fear, neurosis and desire can also drive economic decisions. In turn, his advice comes in the form of how-to, multi-step lists which tend to trivialize matters. Most are on the macro level, but he also provides a list of eight actions - including learning and traveling - that each of us can take on to fulfill the hopes of subsequent generations in encouraging sustainable development. One can conclude that living in a sustainable manner is harder in actual practice than Sachs acknowledges even with trade, technology and common markets making for an increasingly borderless world. The potential for collaboration is there but so are the nationalistic feelings that prevent the goal of a greater good. The elements of successful sustainability are there, according to Sachs, but one questions if the spirit is really willing.

for more information click here

The book sums up the right priorities for mankind in the next 42 years, but...

Anyone with both a conscience and some degree of intellect would be glad to read Prof. Sachs' enumeration of the right policy priorities for mankind in the next 42 years, but I cannot help but feel that as noble as this book's goals are, it is ultimately a Utopian dream. The cold reality remains Exxon, Dubya and the American Theocracy (American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21stCentury), with gay-bashing and resource-exploitation as their prime priorities.

a blueprint to eliminate abject poverty and avoid environmental disaster

This book presents about as complete a description you can find about the causes of extreme poverty and environmental threats and what can be done about it. The analytical part presents compelling evidence that without drastic action the world will be in deep trouble. For example. One the main causes of the poverty trap in poor countries is large family size. Even with the most effective fertility reduction program combined with a reduction of infant mortality (these two changes must be combined) the population of Africa will from 2005 to 2050 increase with 750 million.When only infant mortality is reduced the increase will be more than a billion. Most of this increase will be in the poorest countries.
The book describes in detail how different negative trends reinforce each other leading to self reinforcing loops. It concerns, water shortage, shortage of oil and gas, overfishing, reduction of forest cover, reduction of arable land, pollution and an increase in temperature. Fortunately the author describes precise programs how these problems can still be solved. Also, what the free-market can and cannot do. The complementary roles of global organisations like the UN, national governments, business and NGOs are described.
An example of such a detail is that the main problems cannot be solved without scientific and technological breakthroughs. For example there is plenty of fossil fuel in the form of coal. But a solution has to be found to sequestrate the harmful gases produced otherwise it will lead to environmental disaster. The author believes I think correctly, that fundamental research around this problem has to be organized and funded on a global scale by governments. This is not happening to day. It requires an integrated global approach, already at the R&D level.
The author may be overoptimistic about governments, business and people in general to make short term sacrifices for long term gains. Historical events have been driven primarily by greed, national self-interest; wars, conquests, internal wars, colonilisation, slavery, overfishing, the financial crisis in 2008 are all examples. China rightly wants to increase the standard of living of its inhabitants; as yet almost regardless of the environmental consequences. The US and Europe have made little progress in reducing energy consumption even though they talk a lot about it and set ambitious targets.
The missing link is how to change the attitudes from governments, business and people to be not only concerned about their own well being the next few years, but to be concerned for the well being of others over the next 20 years. It is urgent; it is not just a question of concern for the next generation.
Fortunately, the book presents many examples of successful radical change projects. The challenge is to scale up to the level of the world.

for more information click here

Earth Changing Trends and Solutions

This is yet another classic from Jeffrey Sachs. Here is the most comprehensive and compelling list of issues facing Mother Earth in the twenty first century and also some excellent prescriptions for sustainable and inclusive global economic growth.

The list of "six earth changing trends" starts with convergence. Thanks to globalization and relatively peaceful environment despite some regional tensions, most developing countries are catching up fast for the lost time in the last three decades. Sachs explains the concept of convergence and a thumb rule for forecasting faster growth rates of poorer countries, relative to their income levels. The good news is that poorer countries can grow faster. The flip side is that there are about 6 times more people on this planet today than in 1830 and this is expected to grow by another 40 % to 9.2 billion by 2050. Assuming steady economic growth rates, the global GNP is expected to reach around $ 400 Trillion from the current $ 67 Trillion, a six fold increase.

The bad news is that this may not be achievable if we continue to adopt conventional technologies that deplete natural resources that have an adverse impact on the already fragile environment. Sachs quantifies his using the I = P*A*T equation, where the environmental impact of development equals the product of population, average income and the negative effect of conventional technologies. That means that by 2050, we would have environmental pollution levels that are about 8.4 times than today, which is clearly unsustainable. Hence the urgent need for adopting sustainable technologies on a rapid scale, whereby I=P*A/S where S in the denominator stands for sustainable technologies.

The impact of global warming is also explained extremely well. Global warming caused primarily by CO2 is discussed in detail. The analysis of the rise in global temperatures as a consequence of CO2 levels rising from 280 ppm in 1950 to around 380 ppm today is alarming. Global warming is a vicious cycle since more CO2 in the atmosphere traps more infrared rays from being reflected back into outer space, thereby further increasing atmospheric temperatures. The warmer oceans in turn release the dissolved CO2 into the atmosphere, adding fuel to fire. Sachs points out to the availability of vast carbon resources that can be gainfully utilized to meet our energy needs, while simultaneously using Carbon Capture and Sequestration Technologies to contain CO2 emissions.

Larger populations need more food. Increasing incomes and urbanization means we have lesser people in villages to grow more food from the same acreage of land. It is interesting to note that in the year 2008, for the first time in the history of humanity, 50% of the people are now living in urban areas. The net addition of population from now till 2050 is likely to be added in urban areas. This calls for substantial increase in agricultural productivity in rural areas. Unfortunately, water emerges as a major constraint due to excessive usage, run-offs, depletion of ground water and mismanagement. Global warming further adds to the crisis due to melting of glaciers and increasing variability in rainfall. Moreover water has spillover effects and hydrological interdependence in scare regions can cause severe tensions and conflicts.

We enter the new millennium with such daunting challenges, as well as with a sixth of the world's population trapped in severe poverty. Sachs then turns to his favorite topic of global cooperation to end poverty as pledged by the Millennium Development Goals. Starting from increasing agricultural productivity through high yielding, drought resistant, low tillage crops using modern irrigation techniques, he explains how we can lift the subsistence economies into the first rung of the ladder of development. Small investments in providing treated mosquito nets and spraying of houses can significantly reduce incidents of malaria and improve health and life expectancy.

Markets alone cannot solve global problems of this scale. Public participation and funding of infrastructure, basic education and health care are some of the critical items that markets tend to ignore. Poor countries are in desperate need for aid to free themselves from the poverty trap. For the G-8 it is a matter of adhering to the promise of 0.7 % of GNP towards developmental aid. Unfortunately, this is not met. Sachs once again makes a passionate appeal for adherence to these promises.

There is a separate chapter on US foreign policy, which comes under heavy criticism for excessive defense expenditure to the tune of about $ 1.5 billion a day while totally neglecting economic aid and diplomatic initiatives. Long term solution to peace is economic development and not military intervention argues Sachs.

Overall, the emphasis of the book is on sustainable development and the urgent need to eliminate poverty, two basic duties that all of us as global citizens need to own. In addition, all institutions, Governments, NGOs, Universities, Multinationals and Charitable Institutions should play a significant role. Classic examples of such successful global co operations in the past include eradication of small pox and Asia's Green Revolution.

Two other books that I recommend as worthy supplementary readings are:

1. The end of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs
2. The Bottom Billion by Paul Collier

The time for action is now.

for more information click here

common wealth

What a wonderful read! If you want to understand the planet that we are inheriting at this moment, in real time, then this book is for you. Get your global bearings here.

From one of the world's greatest economic minds, author of The New York Times bestseller The End of Poverty, a clear and vivid map of the road to sustainable and equitable global prosperity and an augury of the global economic collapse that lies ahead if we don't follow it The global economic system now faces a sustainability crisis, Jeffrey Sachs argues, that will overturn many of our basic assumptions about economic life. The changes will be deeper than a rebalancing of economics and politics among different parts of the world; the very idea of competing nation-states scrambling for power, resources, and markets will, in some crucial respects, become pass?. The only question is how bad it will have to get before we face the unavoidable. We will have to learn on a global scale some of the hard lessons that successful societies have gradually and grudgingly learned within national borders: that there must be common ground between rich and poor, among competing ethnic groups, and between society and nature. The central theme of Jeffrey Sachs's new book is that we need a new economic paradigm-global, inclusive, cooperative, environmentally aware, science based- because we are running up against the realities of a crowded planet. The alternative is a worldwide economic collapse of unprecedented severity. Prosperity will have to be sustained through more cooperative processes, relying as much on public policy as on market forces to spread technology, address the needs of the poor, and to husband threatened resources of water, air, energy, land, and biodiversity. The "soft issues" of the environment, public health, and population will become the hard issues of geopolitics. New forms of global politics will in important ways replace capital-city-dominated national diplomacy and intrigue. National governments, even the United States, will become much weaker actors as scientific networks and socially responsible investors and foundations become the more powerful actors. If we do the right things, there is room for all on the planet. We can achieve the four key goals of a global society: prosperity for all, the end of extreme poverty, stabilization of the global population, and environmental sustainability. These are not utopian goals or pipe dreams, yet they are far from automatic. Indeed, we are not on a successful trajectory now to achieve these goals. Common Wealth points the way to the course correction we must embrace for the sake of our common future.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

hot