By Craig VanGrasstek
Summary via publisher (Cambridge University Press)
From the days of Alexander Hamilton to the trade wars of Donald Trump, trade policy has been a key instrument of American power and wealth. The open trading system that the United States sponsored after the Second World War serves US interests by promoting cooperation and prosperity, but also allows the allies to become more independent and China to rise. The case studies in Trade and American Leadership examine how the value of preferential trade programs is undercut by the multilateral liberalization that the United States promoted for generations, and how trade sanctions tend either to be too economically costly to impose or too modest to matter. These problems are exacerbated by a domestic political system in which the gains from trade are unevenly distributed, power is fragmented, and strategies are easily undermined. Trade and American Leadership places special emphasis on today’s challenges, and the rising danger of economic nationalism.
By Jerome Roos
Summary via publisher (Princeton University Press)
The European debt crisis has rekindled long-standing debates about the power of finance and the fraught relationship between capitalism and democracy in a globalized world. Why Not Default? unravels a striking puzzle at the heart of these debates—why, despite frequent crises and the immense costs of repayment, do so many heavily indebted countries continue to service their international debts? In this compelling and incisive book, Jerome Roos provides a sweeping investigation of the political economy of sovereign debt and international crisis management.
By Peter Bloom
Summary via publisher (Pluto Press)
Our contemporary age is confronted by a profound contradiction: on the one hand, our lives as workers, consumers and citizens have become ever more monitored by new technologies. On the other, big business and finance become increasingly less regulated and controllable. What does this technocratic ideology and surveillance-heavy culture reveal about the deeper reality of modern society? Monitored investigates the history and implications of this modern accountability paradox. Peter Bloom reveals pervasive monitoring practices which mask how at its heart, the elite remains socially and ethically out of control. Challenging their exploitive ‘accounting power’, Bloom demands that the systems that administer our lives are oriented to social liberation and new ways of being in the world.
● Wiser Investing: Diversify Your Portfolio Beyond Stocks and Bonds
By Benjamin C. Halliburton
Press release for book launch via Forbes
Previously an exclusive option for high-net-worth individuals and institutions, interval funds opened up additional asset classes to the general investor market. Though many are still unaware of these newly available options, Benjamin C. Halliburton, CFA, has made a career of bringing these strategies to his clients. Today, he is sharing this knowledge with a greater audience. “Even though smart investors may be playing a great game with only stocks and bonds, their hand is only utilizing a portion of the available cards in the investment deck,” said Halliburton.
● Into the Tempest: Essays on the New Global Capitalism
By William I. Robinson
Summary via publisher (Haymarket Books)
These ten essay provide a comprehensive introduction and overview of the theory of global capitalism and its application to a wide range of contemporary issues that will be accessible to activists and the general public yet also satisfying for scholars. In this critical new work, sociologist William I. Robinson offers an engaging and accessible introduction to his theory of global capitalism. He applies this theory to a wide range of contemporary topics, among them, globalization, the trans- national capitalist class, immigrant justice, educational reform, labor and anti-racist struggles, policing, Trumpism, the resurgence of a neo-fascist right, and the rise of a global police state. Sure to spark debate, this is a timely contribution to a renewal of critical social science and Marxist theory for the new century.
● Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way
By Tanja Hester
Summary via publisher (Hachette Books)
In today’s work culture, we’re expected to hustle around the clock. But what if you could escape the traditional path and get on one that doesn’t require working full-time until age 65? What if you could wake up every day without an alarm clock and do the things you love most? Tanja Hester and her husband Mark left their crazed careerist lifestyle to live their dream life in Lake Tahoe, retiring early from high-stress careers. Now Tanja will help you map out a customized plan for freedom and make it easy to succeed, whether you’re good at math and budgeting-or not,
