The Fourth Revolution

The Global Race to Reinvent the State

Business & Finance, Economics, Comparative Economics, Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, Economic Conditions, Economic History
Cover of the book The Fourth Revolution by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge, Penguin Publishing Group
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge ISBN: 9781101606629
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group Publication: May 15, 2014
Imprint: Penguin Books Language: English
Author: John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
ISBN: 9781101606629
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication: May 15, 2014
Imprint: Penguin Books
Language: English

From the bestselling authors of The Right Nation, a visionary argument that our current crisis in government is nothing less than the fourth radical transition in the history of the nation-state

Dysfunctional government: It’s become a cliché, and most of us are resigned to the fact that nothing is ever going to change. As John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge show us, that is a seriously limited view of things. In fact, there have been three great revolutions in government in the history of the modern world. The West has led these revolutions, but now we are in the midst of a fourth revolution, and it is Western government that is in danger of being left behind.

Now, things really are different. The West’s debt load is unsustainable. The developing world has harvested the low-hanging fruits. Industrialization has transformed all the peasant economies it had left to transform, and the toxic side effects of rapid developing world growth are adding to the bill. From Washington to Detroit, from Brasilia to New Delhi, there is a dual crisis of political legitimacy and political effectiveness.

The Fourth Revolution crystallizes the scope of the crisis and points forward to our future. The authors enjoy extraordinary access to influential figures and forces the world over, and the book is a global tour of the innovators in how power is to be wielded. The age of big government is over; the age of smart government has begun. Many of the ideas the authors discuss seem outlandish now, but the center of gravity is moving quickly.

This tour drives home a powerful argument: that countries’ success depends overwhelmingly on their ability to reinvent the state. And that much of the West—and particularly the United States—is failing badly in its task. China is making rapid progress with government reform at the same time as America is falling badly behind. Washington is gridlocked, and America is in danger of squandering its huge advantages from its powerful economy because of failing government. And flailing democracies like India look enviously at China’s state-of-the-art airports and expanding universities.

The race to get government right is not just a race of efficiency. It is a race to see which political values will triumph in the twenty-first century—the liberal values of democracy and liberty or the authoritarian values of command and control. The stakes could not be higher.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

From the bestselling authors of The Right Nation, a visionary argument that our current crisis in government is nothing less than the fourth radical transition in the history of the nation-state

Dysfunctional government: It’s become a cliché, and most of us are resigned to the fact that nothing is ever going to change. As John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge show us, that is a seriously limited view of things. In fact, there have been three great revolutions in government in the history of the modern world. The West has led these revolutions, but now we are in the midst of a fourth revolution, and it is Western government that is in danger of being left behind.

Now, things really are different. The West’s debt load is unsustainable. The developing world has harvested the low-hanging fruits. Industrialization has transformed all the peasant economies it had left to transform, and the toxic side effects of rapid developing world growth are adding to the bill. From Washington to Detroit, from Brasilia to New Delhi, there is a dual crisis of political legitimacy and political effectiveness.

The Fourth Revolution crystallizes the scope of the crisis and points forward to our future. The authors enjoy extraordinary access to influential figures and forces the world over, and the book is a global tour of the innovators in how power is to be wielded. The age of big government is over; the age of smart government has begun. Many of the ideas the authors discuss seem outlandish now, but the center of gravity is moving quickly.

This tour drives home a powerful argument: that countries’ success depends overwhelmingly on their ability to reinvent the state. And that much of the West—and particularly the United States—is failing badly in its task. China is making rapid progress with government reform at the same time as America is falling badly behind. Washington is gridlocked, and America is in danger of squandering its huge advantages from its powerful economy because of failing government. And flailing democracies like India look enviously at China’s state-of-the-art airports and expanding universities.

The race to get government right is not just a race of efficiency. It is a race to see which political values will triumph in the twenty-first century—the liberal values of democracy and liberty or the authoritarian values of command and control. The stakes could not be higher.

More books from Penguin Publishing Group

Cover of the book The Guns of Empire by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book The Winston Brothers by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book Your Putting Solution by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book Afternoons of a Woman of Leisure by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book The Happy Life Checklist by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book The Spy by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book Fellow Citizens by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book Everything Here Is Beautiful by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book Conventional Idiocy by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book Nightingale's Lament by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book Wives Behaving Badly by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book Pretty Takes Practice by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book The Diva Serves High Tea by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book Roadkill by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
Cover of the book Hope Smolders by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy