From: jerry_levy@verizon.net
Date: Thu Feb 21 2008 - 08:34:36 EST
NEW TITLE FROM VERSO Adam Smith in Beijing: Lineages of the Twenty-First Century Giovanni Arrighi ISBN 978 1 84467 1045/ £25 / $35 / Hardcover -In the vast landscape of literature on China rising Giovanni Arrighiâs Adam Smith in Beijing stands out as a beacon of bold creativity and as pursuing a sustained trail-blazing argument. Göran Therborn, Professor of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cambridge -Arrighi is a student of the French historian Fernand Braudel, and the book has the range and ambition of Braudelâs work. Financial Times In the late eighteenth century, the political economist Adam Smith predicted an eventual equalization of power between the conquering West and the conquered non-West. In this magisterial new work, Arrighi shows us how Chinaâs extraordinary rise invites us to read The Wealth of Nations in a radically different way than is usually done. He examines how the recent US attempt to bring into existence the first truly global empire in world history was done in order to counter Chinaâs spectacular economic success of the 1990âs, and how the USâs disastrous failure in Iraq has made China the true winner of the US War on Terror. In the 21st century China may well become again the kind of non-capitalist market economy that Smith described, under totally different domestic and world historical conditions. Giovanni Arrighi's previous book, The Long Twentieth Century, was winner of the American Association PEWS (1995) Award for Distinguished Scholarship. AUTHOR: Giovanni Arrighi is Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University. His books include The Long Twentieth Century, and his work has appeared in many publications including New Left Review. -The convincing power of Arrighi's argument lies in his choice to conceive geopolitics as the endless process of construction of political cultures associating class conflicts and collective commonwealth in different specific ways. Samir Amin, Director of the Third World Forum -In this wonderfully provocative and wide-ranging book, Arrighi offers a fresh and challenging interpretation of China's ascent. Gillian Hart, Professor of Geography, Berkeley, University of California -In this deeply learned, sharply argued, and fascinating book Giovanni Arrighi shows that the mandate of capitalist heaven is shifting to China, more generally to East Asia, but Americans wonât like it. We are witnessing both a return to centuries of past practice, and an auger for a 21st century that, in his view, will be defined by East Asian advance and American retreat. Meanwhile Professor Arrighi offers a truly insightful analysis of the thought of a great political economist: Adam Smith. This is by far the best book to date in the rapidly growing literature on âChina's rise. Bruce Cumings, Gustavas F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Service Professor in History and the College, University of Chicago -An original, brilliant, always powerfully challenging analysis. Wang Hui, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Tsinghua University, Beijing -Proceeding from a re-reading of Smith and Marx, through to a reconsideration of the 'Great Divergence' of East and West, to a blistering deconstruction of the Project for a New American Century, Arrighi dismisses neo-liberal interpretations of China's economic 'miracle' and credits instead Chinaâs own robust market economy tradition. In the process, he leads us on a breathtaking tour of the history of world capitalism over the past three hundred years, and suggests where we may be headed in the future. William T. Rowe, John and Diane Cooke Professor of Chinese History, Johns Hopkins University For more information from Versoâs website: http://www.versobooks.com/books/ab/a-titles/arrighi_g_adam_smith_beijing.shtml Available at all good bookshops or on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adam-Smith-Beijing-Giovanni-Arrighi/dp/1844671046/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202294720&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/Adam-Smith-Beijing-Lineages-Twenty-First/dp/1844671046/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202294777&sr=1-1m$ Contact: zahrak@verso.co.uk www.versobooks.com _______________________________________________ ope mailing list ope@lists.csuchico.edu https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/ope
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