Reclaiming the Future

Book excerpt: The vision of a global future spread through the world like wildfire in the last decade - exhilarating for some, alarming for others, apparently inexorable for all. As free-market advocates would have it, "there is no alternative?" "Reclaiming the Future" tells a different story - that globalization is not inevitable, invincible or intrinsically good. The deregulated global economy has proved highly unstable. The pursuit of unending growth is unsustainable, and the social damage that free markets cause is provoking an international backlash. Jane Kelsey explores the impact of globalization on the New Zealand economy. Her account of foreign investment and free trade policies, the role of the transnationals, and the challenges posed by global agreements and networks will open the eyes of readers. Reclaiming the Future opens wide the debate New Zealanders are seeking for the direction of their country in the twenty-first century.