Keine Angst Vor Der Globalisierung

In No Fear of Globalization, Lafontaine and his co-author, the economist Christa Muller, offer an economic and political programme that breaks with the dominant orthodoxies of our time. They present a thorough empirical critique of the notion that globalization threatens German industry and prosperity. Lafontaine and Muller contend that the extent and impact of globalization have been exaggerated, and that the Right have propagated a myth of economic peril to justify neo-liberal policies. Viewing globalization rather as a welcome process that brings development to poorer countries but in no way necessarily forces richer countries into anti-social directions, Lafontaine and Muller offer a range of policies that combine fairness and competitiveness.

For all those despairing at the apparent lack of imagination on the Left in the face of neo-liberalism and wishing to gain access to the reasoning behind one of the most influential forces in contemporary European politics, this book is a breath of fresh air.