In Defense of Global Capitalism, by Johan Norberg.
Distributed by the Cato Institute, 2003

Anti-globalization protestors have a long list of criticisms of globalization. Johan Norberg’s In Defense of Global Capitalism does not shrink from taking on each criticism, one after the other, citing data for his defense from a variety of sources.

For those who are concerned with globalization’s impact on the poor, one of the more damaging claims advanced against globalization is that it is causing a wider rift between the rich and the poor. While it is making the rich much richer, their gains are coming from the backs of the poor, it is alleged. Norberg agrees with the first claim but refutes the second, relying on a variety of measurements of prosperity and quality of life. Each of these measures of increased prosperity is examined and documented in a series of short chapters (pp 25-47). “The worldwide improvement in the human condition is reflected in a very rapid growth of average life expectancy” (p 28). He also documents the fact that world wide infant mortality is down, as is world hunger. Norberg claims that access to drinkable water has increased from only 10% of the world’s rural population a decade ago, to 75% today. Other indicators include the fact that illiteracy has been significantly reduced, and democratization is strongly on the rise. Oppression of women, although still a challenge in a number of countries, is on the decline, says Norberg, another sign that globalization is closing, not widening, the poverty gap.

Norberg attributes the rapid adoption of globalization to the freedom of decision making that it provides to individuals, and he makes a strong case for economic freedom being the required precedent to political freedom. “In the long run it is hard for dictatorships, once they have accepted economic freedom, to avoid introducing political liberty as well” (p 269). It is extremely interesting to watch China struggle with this particular relationship today.

In fact, it is the relationship between freedom of all kinds, and globalization that is Norberg’s primary defense of global capitalism. An acknowledged anarchist in his school days in Sweden, he now finds global free markets to be the best avenue to the individual freedom of choice that has always inspired him. A longhaired former anarchist turned defender of globalization, Norberg has put his analytical capabilities to work in defense of a position that would shock those with a similar bent towards anarchy.

Norberg is optimistic that, despite setbacks like trends toward protectionism and the failure of trade negotiations, freedom will prevail. “People who have acquired a taste for freedom will not consent to be shut in by walls and fences. They will work to create a better existence for themselves and to improve the world we live in. They will demand freedom and democracy. The aim of politics should be to give them that freedom” (p. 291).

These words, with which he closes the book, may sound like youthful idealism, as several commentators have noted in regard to his book. Nonetheless, Norberg’s optimism in the face of global criticism, his intellectual ability, and the thoroughness of his arguments in defense of global capitalism are admirable and worth a read for a slightly different spin on the globalization debate.

About the Author (from the Cato Institute)
Johan Norberg is a fellow at the Swedish think tank Timbro. His book In Defense of Global Capitalism received rave reviews in Europe. He is also the host of a British Channel 4 documentary, “Globalization Is Good.” His previous books include The Resistance Man Vilhelm Moberg, the History of Swedish Liberalism, and State, Individual, and Market.

Contributed by William Early, Founder, Global Envision.

To read another Global Envision book review about globalization, see The Glass Half Empty.

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