Common wealth : economics for a crowded planet

by Jeffrey Sachs

Hardcover, 2009

Status

Available

Genres

Economics

General Nonfiction

Science & Nature

Politics, Government, Law and Public Policy

Nonfiction

Business

All Topics

Publication

New York : Penguin Group USA 2009.

Description

Assessment of the environmental degradation, rapid population growth, and extreme poverty that threaten global peace and prosperity, with practical solutions based on a new economic paradigm for our crowded planet.

Media reviews

The Times

Sachs's book fits what development professionals expect from the latest development guru. It is very convincing about things we know little about, and has a sprinkling of ideas seductively close to ours, for example, on wiping out malaria. As it moves to countries we have worked in, industries we

know and technologies we use, it is just wrong.

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New York Times

"Sachs smartly describes how we got here, and the path we must take to avert disaster. The director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and the author of "The End of Poverty,” Sachs is perhaps the best-known economist writing on developmental issues (or any other kind of issues) today.

And this is Bigthink with a capital B."

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User reviews

LibraryThing member quilted_kat

Common Wealth makes for a very dense read. It is a very well researched collection of data and statistics detailing the fate of the planet as we go down the road of overpopulation, environmental degradation, and toxic foreign policy. The situation is not presented as a possible scenario, but as a

certainty. It’s not entirely bleak; Sachs does offer solutions to the problems that he details. But if the book reads as a listing of dry statistics that’s simply because that’s what it is. The overall tone of the book is pessimistic, as it is overwhelmingly unlikely that our governments will cooperate to take the necessary steps outlined to alleviate our global problems. Having said that, I still recommend it to anyone who is concerned about our survival as a species.

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LibraryThing member gsatell

An excellent analysis which provides clear solutions. For most of the book he remains clearheaded and solution oriented. However, I wish he would have ommited most of the last section which is a bit more stary-eyed - especially the last chapter "The Power of One."

LibraryThing member LynnB

Jeffrey D. Sachs has written a book arguing for global action in response to global problems. He doesn't make dire predictions for the future, but talks about the implications of problems we are already experiencing.

I think the likelihood of global action is low, but perhaps more ideas like Mr.

Sachs' will help increase those odds.

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LibraryThing member ritaer

Couldn't read it when I realized that he has the standard economist's answer to shortages of vital materials--we will find substitutes. Really? a substitute of water? for oil?

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