Inteligencia y Seguridad Frente Externo En Profundidad Economia y Finanzas Transparencia
  En Parrilla Medio Ambiente Sociedad High Tech Contacto
En Profundidad  
 
05/09/2009 | Globalisation - The value of history

The Economist Staff

THE reflections of Harold James, an economic historian at Princeton University and a long-time student of what makes globalisation happen, would be of interest even in times more tranquil than these. But at a moment when the march of global integration has been stalled by a financial crisis unparalleled since the 1930s, Mr James is a particularly fitting guide. His previous book about globalisation, in 2001, was about the fragility and reversibility of a process that many at the time believed to be inexorable.

 

It is to the present crisis, and the profound anxiety that accompanies it, that Mr James turns in his new book. At a time when economists are accused of having forgotten history, yet few historians can explain the world of bank bail-outs and the turmoil they cause, Mr James has a rare gift for being able to marshal an impressive knowledge of economic and financial history in order to highlight previously unrecognised connections with the past.

Financial crises are marked by a disquieting uncertainty about the value of assets and money, which makes them deeply disorientating. It is natural for people to turn to history to try to make sense of things. During the present crisis, arguments about what needs to be done have been framed in terms of the Great Depression. An expert on the era runs the Federal Reserve; another chairs America’s Council of Economic Advisers. But Mr James shows that people have always turned to past events in times of crisis. The aftermath of the crash of 1929 was marked by an obsessive interest in earlier crashes, which perhaps explains the widespread use of the phrase “Black Friday” (only the stockmarket collapse of 1869 took place on a Friday).

Mr James argues that the events most closely related to the present crisis may be the huge bank failures in Austria and Germany in 1931. Certainly the story he tells has a familiar ring to it. Uncertainty about asset values in a big German bank led to difficulties throughout the banking sector. The government responded by injecting huge amounts of public money into the banks and by creating a “bad bank” for the assets that could not be priced. The government also founded a new institution that allowed the Reichsbank to discount bills from those banks that could not be traded because the inter-bank market had seized up. Then, as now, the politics of bank bail-outs were devilishly complicated and hugely controversial, forcing politicians to muddy their hands with microeconomic decisions that had enormous consequences and opportunities for cronyism. Mr James is in his element when showing how seemingly novel crises and policy debates are often variants of crises past, especially once the Great Depression is seen as more than a mainly American event.

But he also makes a broader argument. Financial crises revolve around uncertainty in monetary value and they tend to provoke a reconsideration of values in a more fundamental sense. At the moment everything from the ethics of debt and the nature of capitalism to the continued dominance of the dollar is up for debate. Past crises, Mr James argues, show that this ferment can lead to changes in political power. The Great Depression, for example, accelerated the decline of Britain and the rise of America. The world that emerges from this recession will be shaped largely by China and America, the one rising and the other declining as a global power.

But how much of a crisis of values is this in China or India or the rest of the emerging world? Government stimulus, inherent dynamism and favourable demographics have helped many countries grow at a robust pace through this recession. The West’s values (re-examined or otherwise) will not by themselves determine the nature of the world that emerges. That the debate about values at the core of Mr James’s otherwise wide-ranging book is essentially a Western one thus remains one of its ultimate frustrations.

The Creation and Destruction of Value: The Globalisation Cycle. By Harold James. Harvard University Press; 336 pages; $19.95 and £14.95.

The Economist (Reino Unido)

 


Otras Notas Relacionadas... ( Records 1 to 10 of 597 )
fecha titulo
09/03/2013 Readying Europe for This Global Age
29/12/2012 Internet: La nueva cortina de hierro
14/12/2012 La primera globalización
17/11/2012 Global Society - Yes, There Will Be a Social Revolution in America
03/09/2012 Hugo Beteta, director CEPAL para Centroamérica y México: ´El modelo está haciendo agua por todos lados´
01/09/2012 Global Economy - The Geopolitical Consequences of a New Great Depression
26/08/2012 Global Finance - Just Blame the Mathematicians?
26/08/2012 Global Energy - Nudging Europe's Energy Transformation
25/08/2012 Liderazgo mundial - Sí hay solución
18/08/2012 Global Finance: The Danger of More Financial Concentration


Otras Notas del Autor
fecha
Título
23/09/2023|
06/09/2022|
17/09/2020|
15/09/2020|
18/08/2020|
05/07/2020|
01/06/2020|
30/05/2020|
15/05/2020|
26/04/2020|
14/04/2020|
04/04/2020|
24/03/2020|
19/01/2020|
23/08/2019|
22/08/2019|
20/08/2019|
21/07/2019|
04/02/2019|
13/01/2019|
26/12/2018|
24/12/2018|
04/10/2018|
13/08/2018|
12/08/2018|
07/08/2018|
03/08/2018|
28/07/2018|
25/07/2018|
23/07/2018|
23/07/2018|
21/07/2018|
01/07/2018|
12/06/2018|
26/04/2018|
22/04/2018|
10/04/2018|
24/03/2018|
20/03/2018|
04/03/2018|
03/02/2018|
11/12/2017|
11/12/2017|
11/12/2017|
02/12/2017|
17/11/2017|
16/11/2017|
07/11/2017|
01/11/2017|
28/10/2017|
26/10/2017|
05/10/2017|
26/09/2017|
09/09/2017|
20/08/2017|
19/08/2017|
14/08/2017|
01/08/2017|
22/07/2017|
20/07/2017|
15/07/2017|
09/07/2017|
07/07/2017|
12/06/2017|
10/06/2017|
13/05/2017|
13/05/2017|
30/04/2017|
19/04/2017|
18/04/2017|
04/04/2017|
28/03/2017|
28/03/2017|
17/03/2017|
12/03/2017|
05/03/2017|
05/03/2017|
24/02/2017|
24/02/2017|
22/02/2017|
22/02/2017|
20/02/2017|
01/02/2017|
16/01/2017|
16/01/2017|
15/01/2017|
10/01/2017|
01/01/2017|
24/11/2016|
20/11/2016|
11/11/2016|
24/10/2016|
17/10/2016|
15/10/2016|
14/10/2016|
14/10/2016|
13/10/2016|
10/10/2016|
01/10/2016|
14/09/2016|
09/09/2016|
04/09/2016|
04/09/2016|
17/08/2016|
14/08/2016|
14/08/2016|
16/06/2016|
11/06/2016|
06/06/2016|
06/06/2016|
27/05/2016|
07/05/2016|
14/04/2016|
14/04/2016|
11/04/2016|
11/04/2016|
25/03/2016|
18/03/2016|
18/03/2016|
18/03/2016|
15/03/2016|
15/03/2016|
13/03/2016|
08/02/2016|
07/02/2016|
24/01/2016|
05/01/2016|
04/01/2016|
31/12/2015|
16/12/2015|
16/12/2015|
11/12/2015|
28/11/2015|
21/11/2015|
10/11/2015|
07/11/2015|
03/11/2015|
31/10/2015|
19/10/2015|
19/10/2015|
15/10/2015|
28/09/2015|
20/09/2015|
18/09/2015|
03/09/2015|
31/08/2015|
28/08/2015|
21/08/2015|
16/08/2015|
08/08/2015|
08/08/2015|
30/07/2015|
30/07/2015|
22/07/2015|
27/06/2015|
27/06/2015|
17/06/2015|
09/06/2015|
06/06/2015|
03/06/2015|
30/05/2015|
30/05/2015|
22/05/2015|
21/05/2015|
19/05/2015|
06/05/2015|
02/05/2015|
03/04/2015|
31/03/2015|
29/03/2015|
09/03/2015|
04/03/2015|
25/02/2015|
19/02/2015|
16/02/2015|
16/02/2015|
01/02/2015|
01/02/2015|
27/01/2015|
27/01/2015|
27/01/2015|
23/01/2015|
22/01/2015|
13/01/2015|
13/01/2015|
02/01/2015|
02/01/2015|
22/12/2014|
21/12/2014|
21/12/2014|
18/12/2014|
14/12/2014|
04/12/2014|
01/12/2014|
01/12/2014|
28/11/2014|
20/11/2014|
20/11/2014|
12/11/2014|
01/11/2014|
21/10/2014|
19/10/2014|
18/10/2014|
14/10/2014|
12/10/2014|
12/10/2014|
12/10/2014|
10/10/2014|
06/10/2014|
06/10/2014|
01/10/2014|
29/09/2014|
29/09/2014|
19/09/2014|
15/09/2014|
09/09/2014|
01/09/2014|
26/08/2014|
26/08/2014|
19/08/2014|
19/08/2014|
08/08/2014|
29/07/2014|
29/07/2014|
27/07/2014|
27/07/2014|
21/07/2014|
21/07/2014|
21/07/2014|
03/07/2014|
01/07/2014|
23/06/2014|
21/06/2014|
18/06/2014|
18/06/2014|
18/06/2014|
29/05/2014|
21/05/2014|
17/05/2014|
09/05/2014|
09/05/2014|
09/05/2014|
05/05/2014|
27/04/2014|
20/04/2014|
20/04/2014|
20/04/2014|
11/04/2014|
07/04/2014|
31/03/2014|
31/03/2014|
25/03/2014|
04/03/2014|
27/02/2014|
21/02/2014|
17/02/2014|
14/02/2014|
04/02/2014|
31/01/2014|
31/01/2014|
25/01/2014|
16/01/2014|
15/01/2014|
15/01/2014|
14/01/2014|
02/01/2014|
25/12/2013|
19/12/2013|
11/12/2013|
11/12/2013|
06/12/2013|
03/12/2013|
03/12/2013|
27/11/2013|
25/11/2013|
20/11/2013|
17/11/2013|
11/11/2013|
08/11/2013|
06/11/2013|
05/11/2013|
28/10/2013|
28/10/2013|
28/10/2013|
27/10/2013|
21/10/2013|
21/10/2013|
21/10/2013|
16/10/2013|
10/10/2013|
09/10/2013|
09/10/2013|
29/09/2013|
21/09/2013|
17/09/2013|
17/09/2013|
15/09/2013|
15/09/2013|
14/09/2013|
03/09/2013|
27/08/2013|
27/08/2013|
17/08/2013|
12/08/2013|
12/08/2013|
12/08/2013|
07/08/2013|
29/07/2013|
18/07/2013|
18/07/2013|
12/07/2013|
12/07/2013|
11/07/2013|
07/07/2013|
06/07/2013|
29/06/2013|
21/06/2013|
21/06/2013|
16/06/2013|
16/06/2013|
16/06/2013|
12/06/2013|
03/06/2013|
03/06/2013|
30/05/2013|
30/05/2013|
28/05/2013|
28/05/2013|
28/05/2013|
23/05/2013|
23/05/2013|
20/05/2013|
20/05/2013|
16/05/2013|
16/05/2013|
10/05/2013|
10/05/2013|
06/05/2013|
04/05/2013|
23/04/2013|
21/04/2013|
21/04/2013|
19/04/2013|
14/04/2013|
11/04/2013|
08/04/2013|
03/04/2013|
31/03/2013|
22/03/2013|
21/03/2013|
14/03/2013|
14/03/2013|
11/03/2013|
11/03/2013|
11/03/2013|
03/03/2013|
03/03/2013|
03/03/2013|
03/03/2013|
03/03/2013|
25/02/2013|
25/02/2013|
18/02/2013|
18/02/2013|
18/02/2013|
14/02/2013|
14/02/2013|
11/02/2013|
11/02/2013|
11/02/2013|
27/01/2013|
25/01/2013|
22/01/2013|
22/01/2013|
15/01/2013|
13/01/2013|
10/01/2013|
10/01/2013|
10/01/2013|
09/01/2013|
09/01/2013|
30/12/2012|
25/12/2012|
25/12/2012|
24/12/2012|
24/12/2012|
19/12/2012|
18/12/2012|
18/12/2012|
12/12/2012|
08/12/2012|
06/12/2012|
05/12/2012|
04/12/2012|
04/12/2012|
27/11/2012|
26/11/2012|
24/11/2012|
24/11/2012|
24/11/2012|
19/11/2012|
18/11/2012|
18/11/2012|
18/11/2012|
10/11/2012|
09/11/2012|
09/11/2012|
09/11/2012|
07/11/2012|
07/11/2012|
07/11/2012|
07/11/2012|
07/11/2012|
07/11/2012|
05/11/2012|
02/11/2012|
02/11/2012|
01/11/2012|
31/10/2012|
31/10/2012|
30/10/2012|
30/10/2012|
26/10/2012|
26/10/2012|
26/10/2012|
26/10/2012|
19/10/2012|
19/10/2012|
19/10/2012|
19/10/2012|
19/10/2012|
29/09/2012|
10/09/2012|
10/09/2012|
10/09/2012|
10/09/2012|
10/09/2012|
09/09/2012|
01/09/2012|
01/09/2012|
01/09/2012|
30/08/2012|
24/08/2012|
22/08/2012|
22/08/2012|
22/08/2012|
21/08/2012|
15/08/2012|
15/08/2012|
15/08/2012|
13/08/2012|
13/08/2012|
10/08/2012|
09/08/2012|
09/08/2012|
07/08/2012|
06/08/2012|
06/08/2012|
06/08/2012|
06/08/2012|
31/07/2012|
31/07/2012|
31/07/2012|
31/07/2012|
28/07/2012|
28/07/2012|
28/07/2012|
28/07/2012|
28/07/2012|
28/07/2012|
28/07/2012|
28/07/2012|
25/07/2012|
25/07/2012|
15/07/2012|
15/07/2012|
14/07/2012|
10/07/2012|
10/07/2012|
09/07/2012|
14/06/2012|
14/06/2012|
09/06/2012|
09/06/2012|
09/06/2012|
08/06/2012|
04/06/2012|
04/06/2012|
03/06/2012|
03/06/2012|
21/05/2012|
20/05/2012|
20/05/2012|
06/05/2012|
27/04/2012|
13/04/2012|
13/04/2012|
13/04/2012|
12/04/2012|
12/04/2012|
07/04/2012|
07/04/2012|
06/04/2012|
06/04/2012|
04/04/2012|
01/04/2012|
01/04/2012|
01/04/2012|
19/03/2012|
19/03/2012|
18/03/2012|
18/03/2012|
12/03/2012|
12/03/2012|
04/03/2012|
04/03/2012|
04/03/2012|
04/03/2012|
04/03/2012|
04/03/2012|
04/03/2012|
04/03/2012|
02/03/2012|
02/03/2012|
02/03/2012|
25/02/2012|
25/02/2012|
25/02/2012|
25/02/2012|
25/02/2012|
25/02/2012|
05/11/2011|
30/10/2011|
30/10/2011|
29/10/2011|
21/10/2011|
11/10/2011|
11/10/2011|
08/10/2011|
04/10/2011|
03/10/2011|
03/10/2011|
03/10/2011|
01/10/2011|
01/10/2011|
25/09/2011|
24/09/2011|
23/09/2011|
23/09/2011|
23/09/2011|
23/09/2011|
23/09/2011|
20/09/2011|
17/09/2011|
17/09/2011|
16/09/2011|
15/09/2011|
11/09/2011|
11/09/2011|
07/09/2011|
07/09/2011|
04/09/2011|
04/09/2011|
04/09/2011|
04/09/2011|
02/09/2011|
02/09/2011|
02/09/2011|
02/09/2011|
27/08/2011|
27/08/2011|
27/08/2011|
27/08/2011|
26/08/2011|
26/08/2011|
26/08/2011|
26/08/2011|
25/08/2011|
25/08/2011|
23/08/2011|
23/08/2011|
16/08/2011|
16/08/2011|
16/08/2011|
16/08/2011|
11/08/2011|
11/08/2011|
11/08/2011|
07/08/2011|
04/08/2011|
29/07/2011|
28/07/2011|
24/07/2011|
24/07/2011|
23/07/2011|
23/07/2011|
22/07/2011|
21/07/2011|
21/07/2011|
17/07/2011|
17/07/2011|
15/07/2011|
15/07/2011|
15/07/2011|
15/07/2011|
13/07/2011|
13/07/2011|
13/07/2011|
13/07/2011|
29/06/2011|
29/06/2011|
19/06/2011|
19/06/2011|
19/06/2011|
19/06/2011|
18/06/2011|
18/06/2011|
18/06/2011|
18/06/2011|
17/06/2011|
17/06/2011|
14/06/2011|
14/06/2011|
13/06/2011|
13/06/2011|
13/06/2011|
13/06/2011|
05/06/2011|
05/06/2011|
03/06/2011|
03/06/2011|
03/06/2011|
03/06/2011|
01/06/2011|
01/06/2011|
01/06/2011|
01/06/2011|
01/06/2011|
01/06/2011|
01/06/2011|
01/06/2011|
29/05/2011|
29/05/2011|
29/05/2011|
29/05/2011|
29/05/2011|
29/05/2011|
23/05/2011|
23/05/2011|
22/05/2011|
22/05/2011|
22/05/2011|
22/05/2011|
22/05/2011|
22/05/2011|
21/05/2011|
21/05/2011|
21/05/2011|
21/05/2011|
16/05/2011|
16/05/2011|
13/05/2011|
13/05/2011|
06/05/2011|
06/05/2011|
04/05/2011|
04/05/2011|
04/05/2011|
04/05/2011|
02/05/2011|
02/05/2011|
02/05/2011|
02/05/2011|
01/05/2011|
01/05/2011|
01/05/2011|
01/05/2011|
01/05/2011|
01/05/2011|
26/04/2011|
26/04/2011|
26/04/2011|
26/04/2011|
26/04/2011|
26/04/2011|
21/04/2011|
21/04/2011|
21/04/2011|
21/04/2011|
20/04/2011|
20/04/2011|
20/04/2011|
20/04/2011|
20/04/2011|
20/04/2011|
15/04/2011|
11/04/2011|
11/04/2011|
08/04/2011|
03/04/2011|
27/03/2011|
27/03/2011|
26/03/2011|
26/03/2011|
20/03/2011|
20/03/2011|
19/03/2011|
19/03/2011|
19/03/2011|
13/03/2011|
13/03/2011|
12/03/2011|
11/03/2011|
11/03/2011|
09/03/2011|
07/03/2011|
07/03/2011|
05/03/2011|
04/03/2011|
04/03/2011|
04/03/2011|
18/02/2011|
21/01/2011|
21/01/2011|
16/01/2011|
16/01/2011|
11/01/2011|
08/01/2011|
02/01/2011|
02/01/2011|
29/12/2010|
29/12/2010|
28/12/2010|
26/12/2010|
13/12/2010|
13/12/2010|
08/12/2010|
02/12/2010|
30/11/2010|
30/11/2010|
28/11/2010|
26/11/2010|
26/11/2010|
24/11/2010|
16/11/2010|
16/11/2010|
16/11/2010|
09/11/2010|
07/11/2010|
31/10/2010|
31/10/2010|
31/10/2010|
26/10/2010|
25/10/2010|
22/10/2010|
18/10/2010|
16/10/2010|
16/10/2010|
11/10/2010|
10/10/2010|
10/10/2010|
09/10/2010|
05/10/2010|
28/09/2010|
28/09/2010|
24/09/2010|
24/09/2010|
22/09/2010|
22/09/2010|
15/09/2010|
15/09/2010|
15/09/2010|
12/09/2010|
12/09/2010|
12/09/2010|
12/09/2010|
06/09/2010|
06/09/2010|
05/09/2010|
05/09/2010|
29/08/2010|
29/08/2010|
29/08/2010|
29/08/2010|
22/08/2010|
22/08/2010|
21/08/2010|
21/08/2010|
21/08/2010|
21/08/2010|
21/08/2010|
21/08/2010|
14/08/2010|
13/08/2010|
13/08/2010|
07/08/2010|
07/08/2010|
12/07/2010|
12/06/2010|
12/06/2010|
12/06/2010|
24/05/2010|
24/05/2010|
11/05/2010|
10/05/2010|
09/05/2010|
09/05/2010|
09/05/2010|
01/04/2010|
01/04/2010|
31/03/2010|
31/03/2010|
31/03/2010|
28/03/2010|
28/03/2010|
28/03/2010|
20/03/2010|
12/03/2010|
12/03/2010|
12/03/2010|
08/03/2010|
07/03/2010|
06/03/2010|
05/03/2010|
03/03/2010|
03/03/2010|
28/02/2010|
21/02/2010|
19/02/2010|
14/02/2010|
11/02/2010|
11/02/2010|
10/02/2010|
08/02/2010|
08/02/2010|
08/02/2010|
28/01/2010|
25/01/2010|
20/01/2010|
20/01/2010|
16/01/2010|
16/01/2010|
15/01/2010|
15/01/2010|
11/01/2010|
11/01/2010|
10/01/2010|
07/01/2010|
03/01/2010|
03/01/2010|
03/01/2010|
17/12/2009|
15/12/2009|
15/12/2009|
13/12/2009|
13/12/2009|
28/11/2009|
28/11/2009|
28/11/2009|
28/11/2009|
27/11/2009|
27/11/2009|
27/11/2009|
27/11/2009|
27/11/2009|
27/11/2009|
21/11/2009|
21/11/2009|
18/11/2009|
18/11/2009|
16/11/2009|
16/11/2009|
30/10/2009|
30/10/2009|
11/10/2009|
10/10/2009|
10/10/2009|
07/10/2009|
07/10/2009|
04/10/2009|
30/09/2009|
30/09/2009|
27/09/2009|
27/09/2009|
27/09/2009|
22/09/2009|
20/09/2009|
18/09/2009|
18/09/2009|
18/09/2009|
16/09/2009|
16/09/2009|
16/09/2009|
08/09/2009|
07/09/2009|
06/09/2009|
06/09/2009|
05/09/2009|
26/08/2009|
21/08/2009|
19/08/2009|
19/08/2009|
15/08/2009|
15/08/2009|
15/08/2009|
11/08/2009|
11/08/2009|
11/08/2009|
11/08/2009|
19/07/2009|
19/07/2009|
18/07/2009|
18/07/2009|
27/03/2009|
22/03/2009|
22/03/2009|
27/01/2009|
27/01/2009|
27/01/2009|
17/01/2009|
17/01/2009|
17/01/2009|
17/01/2009|
17/01/2009|
17/01/2009|
11/01/2009|
06/12/2008|
06/12/2008|
06/12/2008|
06/12/2008|
23/11/2008|
23/11/2008|
16/11/2008|
16/11/2008|
04/11/2008|
04/11/2008|
03/11/2008|
03/11/2008|
24/10/2008|
24/10/2008|
24/10/2008|
24/10/2008|
15/09/2008|
15/09/2008|
15/09/2008|
15/09/2008|
15/09/2008|
15/09/2008|
06/09/2008|
06/09/2008|
05/09/2008|
05/09/2008|
05/09/2008|
05/09/2008|
01/09/2008|
01/09/2008|
01/09/2008|
01/09/2008|
22/08/2008|
22/08/2008|
17/08/2008|
17/08/2008|
16/08/2008|
16/08/2008|
28/07/2008|
28/07/2008|
28/07/2008|
28/07/2008|
28/07/2008|
28/07/2008|
19/07/2008|
19/07/2008|
24/05/2008|
24/05/2008|
03/05/2008|
03/05/2008|
29/04/2008|
11/02/2008|
05/01/2008|
09/12/2007|
18/11/2007|
10/11/2007|
10/11/2007|
06/11/2007|
06/11/2007|
06/09/2007|
26/08/2007|
25/08/2007|
11/07/2007|
16/06/2007|
16/06/2007|
10/06/2007|
10/06/2007|
19/05/2007|
19/05/2007|
19/05/2007|
19/05/2007|
24/04/2007|
24/04/2007|
14/04/2007|
14/04/2007|
05/04/2007|
05/04/2007|
05/04/2007|
28/02/2007|
28/02/2007|
05/02/2007|
05/02/2007|
04/02/2007|
04/02/2007|
04/02/2007|
04/02/2007|
04/02/2007|
04/02/2007|
29/01/2007|
29/01/2007|
29/01/2007|
29/01/2007|
11/01/2007|
11/01/2007|
11/01/2007|
11/01/2007|
27/12/2006|
27/12/2006|
27/12/2006|
27/12/2006|
27/12/2006|
27/12/2006|
20/12/2006|
20/12/2006|
17/11/2006|
30/09/2006|
28/07/2006|
12/04/2006|
12/04/2006|
12/04/2006|
06/03/2006|
21/02/2006|
17/02/2006|
31/01/2006|
10/01/2006|
28/12/2005|
31/10/2005|
26/09/2005|
29/08/2005|
11/08/2005|
08/08/2005|
24/06/2005|
24/06/2005|
24/06/2005|
03/04/2005|
03/04/2005|
03/04/2005|
03/04/2005|

ver + notas
 
Center for the Study of the Presidency
Freedom House