Post American World
Author: Fareed Zakaria
ISBN: 978-0-393-33480-7
By: Ashley Ogden
Overview
Fareed Zakaria writes in his book, “Post American World” that the world will soon be one “with many powers and one superpower”. In this book, written in 2008 and published in New York by W.W. Norton & Company , the author describes the major “powers” in the world with a background and forecast of what each of their roles has been and will be in the future of this changing World. Zakaria was born and raised in India and moved to the United States of America when he was a teenager where he has lived ever since. Because of his background, he gives a unique perspective on the issue of new and emerging powers in the World, including India. He borrows theories and ideas from other economists as well. Jeffery Sachs is one of the economists quoted in the book and some of Zakaria’s opinions seem like echoes of Sach’s research. However, Zakaria gives a more balanced view of the world situation than some economists, such as Sachs or William Easterly, do. Easterly and Sachs have both written about developing nations and their rise to parity or lack thereof. They have historically had very different opinions on the same issue, Zakaria on the other hand seems to give a balanced view without putting too much of his own bias into the book. In the last chapter, Zakaria gives six pieces of advice which make perfect sense after reading the book. He provides great background information and support for his reasoning.
The Rise of the Rest
Zakaria gives a very insightful description of the relationships between nations and focuses on the relationships that will become the most important in the years to come. The relationships between the Unites States and China and with India are the main focus of the book. African and European countries are also mentioned but at not the same length. He described the “rise of the rest” not as the rise of other countries at the demise of the United States but rather as a growing pie in which more countries will have a bigger share.
Jeffery Sachs argues in his books that what countries need to get out of poverty and into the first world is a big push; a big push of aid, reform, and change. Zakaria discusses this theory at first in the book but then later on, towards the end, Zakaria argues that what countries need to be developed is small incremental changes that come from the bottom-up instead of these massive top-down aid pancakes and reform regulations that have been delivered in the past. In the end of the book Zakaria does suggest some general rules to which the United States should follow in order to continue being the main superpower. These suggestions are not “big pushes” of aid or reform, but rather attitudes to have while making decisions down the road. This is a refreshing take on what the United States should do.
Zakaria also retraces the history and details that attributed each country with its current situation. The obvious factors have to do with political, economic, and military forces. The not-so-obvious to the rise or demise of a country the natural resources available (i.e. location), religious backgrounds or lack thereof, fertility rates and immigration. Zakaria makes the argument that these factors plus others combined make up a large portion of why the United States has been able to be the superpower of the World and why it won’t become another Britain as so many people are worried about.
The relationships that the US makes with these countries now and in the future is very important to the well-being of all nations involved. Arguably the most important of these relationships is the one between the US and China.
This book makes you think of what a “post American” world would look like and be like to live it. This concept is a new one since, as Zakaria points out, most of the world today was created in the Western standard. What we are experiencing now is countries who integrate Western traditions alongside their own traditions. Zakaria explains that people feel more comfortable following and preserving their own heritage and culture instead of just adopting the Western styles of doing things. This includes business. We already know that business is done very differently in different parts of the world. But Zakaria seems to imply that the way things, like business, will be done in the future will continue to become more different instead of less different because people will follow their own guidelines, not America’s.
What does this all mean for a young MBA students like me? It means that we need to have our eyes open; open to differences and open to change. Zakaria writes that while “the world is opening up, America is closing down”. American learns fewer languages than people in other countries and we are less open to differences in traditions, sulfurs, language, etc. If we want to be successful in the modern business world, we need to accept change and different ways of doing business. Instead of thinking that the American way is the only way, we need to look around us and see how things are changing and adapt in a way that puts us at an advantage instead of a disadvantage.
Strengths of the book
This was a great, informative and easy book to read that was packed full of thought-provoking analysis and viewpoints that kept the reader engaged during the entire book. Throughout the book, Zakaria describes historical events that have shaped the current situation for the United States and for other countries. These events, such as 9/11 and the Cold War are widely known so, instead of including every detail of the event, Zakaria brings a new detail of information to the reader that they have likely not heard of before. Personal stories and accounts from heads of state and people personally involved in the decision making are great anecdotes to the overall story and lessons. By adding these little details, the reader is much more interesting in the story than if just the brutal facts of the situation had just been presented. Zakaria is able to make a history book into more of a story this way and keep his audience interested in the book although he is re-hashing events that most of his readers have already heard of before.
Another refreshing thing that Zakaria brings to the table is his interesting comparisons and conclusions he arrives at. Although many people have wrote about the similarities between Britain and the United States, Zakaria raises many differences that seem to be very relevant to the discussion of whether or not the United States will end up like Britain or not.
Weaknesses of the book
Zakaria writes about a very sensitive issue, most sensitive to people who have had their eyes closed and have not noticed the changes happening in the world. However, Zakaria is somewhat indecisive about his solution to dealing with a “post-American” world. He simply states how we got to it and how it might look. At the end of the book, he does have suggestions for America and how we can handle being the superpower among many powers. What was not in the book however was his opinion about what America needs to do to stay competitive. His intention was most likely to guide the thinking of Americans going into this changing world, but I would have liked to see him take a clearer stance on what America should and should not do regarding relationships and polices towards “the rest”
Overall Recommendations
This is a great book that discusses the changes happening in our world today and what the future world, a “post-American” world, might look like. Zakaria is very correct and thorough on his analysis of the different relationships between countries. He does a good job and relating the history to the present and to the future. I think that within his comparisons, he highlights differences and similarities correctly. I agree with his closing suggestions for America. I would recommend this book to anyone. Whether you are interested in foreign politics or not, this book relates to you.
