21st Century Capitalism

Rating:
Summary: A Book about The Real Long Run
Review: 21st Century Capitalsim, published in 1993, fails to capture the enthusiasm of current market trends. Heilbroner does present an interesting development of the different aspects of economies, ranging from Traditional (un-developed countries), Command (20th Century Communism) and Capitalism. He draws heavily from past economists such as Adam Smith and Keynes, but fails to support his predictions with recent examinations of the economy. Perhaps when he wrote this book, the US stock market had not fully rebounded from the 1992 recession. I would recommend this book for those seeking an extremely verbose and pessimistic view of future economics. For those who wish to read a book with a positive view of the future and some concrete suggestions on how to prepare for the revolutionary changes ahead, I would recommend Harry S. Dent JR's "The Roaring 2000's".

Rating:
Summary: A pessimistic view by an educated socialist
Review: 21st Century Capitalsim, published in 1993, fails to capture the enthusiasm of current market trends. Heilbroner does present an interesting development of the different aspects of economies, ranging from Traditional (un-developed countries), Command (20th Century Communism) and Capitalism. He draws heavily from past economists such as Adam Smith and Keynes, but fails to support his predictions with recent examinations of the economy. Perhaps when he wrote this book, the US stock market had not fully rebounded from the 1992 recession. I would recommend this book for those seeking an extremely verbose and pessimistic view of future economics. For those who wish to read a book with a positive view of the future and some concrete suggestions on how to prepare for the revolutionary changes ahead, I would recommend Harry S. Dent JR's "The Roaring 2000's".

Rating:
Summary: Capitalism's gigantic challenges
Review: Robert Heilbroner is a brilliant teacher. With clear and concise explanations he reveals the essential characteristics of our capitalist society as well as its historical background.
Capitalism is based on eternal exchange (money for commodities for money ...) and change (products, means of production, jobs ...).
It engenders also multiple conflicts. In our world there is global economic integration but political compartmentalization (individual states). It enhances the cleft between the haves and the have-nots and it produces externalities like pollution (global warming).
Although this book contains some controversial points (exaggerated alienation suffering by workers, projection of a world wide centrally planned economy), I agree with its conclusion that capitalism will survive the 21st century. It has found a new fertile elan in new formidable markets like China and India.
Robert Heilbroner states that capitalism can only survive in a democracy, but that could be fatally contradicted by the Chinese experiment.
Surely, world capitalism will undergo drastic changes, being confronted with such crucial problems as global warming, delocalization of work forces, the redefinition of the role of the national public sector or the power of international organizations.
It will also provoke radical changes in world power. The new winner will most probably be China, because India has to resolve the Hindu/Muslim controversy and the 'classes' hurdle.
This small book is a must read for all those interested in the future of our world.

Rating:
Summary: A Book about The Real Long Run
Review: This is a book that reiterates a lot of the work in "The Decline of the Business Civilization" also by Heilbroner but in the 1970's. The purpose of the book is not to give anything in the way of short run economic prediction (like upswings in the stock market) but instead to attempt to step out of the capitalist mindset for a minute to explore what it means to be in a capitalist society. This includes the costs and the benefits. The purpose is to try to determine what possibilities exist for economic systems in the future by understanding what forces will shape them. This analysis includes discussion of economic and political forces, the tension between the two, and yes of course Marx.