The Economic Government of the World by Martin Daunton
At the start of the 20th century, the middle classes of many nations could feel connected through a global economy. That relatively unregulated system shattered with World War I and was never entirely put to order until after World War II. By that time, the U.S. could impose an economic order on those parts of the world not dominated by the Soviet Union. University of Cambridge economist Martin Daunton asks how in the “multipolar world” of today, nations can “ensure cooperation rather than retreat into mutual hostility.”
The Economic Government of the World is a massive tome; entire sections, such as the rapid regrowth of the (West) German economy after World War II could be spun into separate books. One of Daunton’s cautionary through-lines concerns how “the pursuit of individual national self-interest will often mean that everyone eventually suffers.” America First nationalism sounds good after the second beer but could have negative consequences if pushed too far. Although the international alphabet soup of GATT, NAFTA, WTO and IMF have been focused on international trade and finance, Daunton reminds us (and them) that climate change poses a threat to the world economy—and life on Earth. “What Brazil does with the Amazon or China with emissions of carbon have consequences far beyond their own boundaries.”
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