Sachs writes in simple, clean prose that most students and general readers should find accessible. This is no small feat considering the massiveness of the topics and the brevity of the book.

Autorentext
Jeffrey D. Sachs is University Professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. He is also director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and has been advisor to three UN secretaries-general. He is a New York Times best-selling author, and his Columbia University Press books include The Age of Sustainable Development (2015), Building the New American Economy (2017), and A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism (2018).

Klappentext

Today's most urgent problems are fundamentally global. They require nothing less than concerted, planetwide action if we are to secure a long-term future. But humanity's story has always been on a global scale, and this history deeply informs the present. In this book, Jeffrey D. Sachs, renowned economist and expert on sustainable development, turns to world history to shed light on how we can meet the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century. Sachs takes readers through a series of six distinct waves of technological and ideological change, starting with the very beginnings of our species and ending with reflections on present-day globalization. Along the way, he considers how the interplay of geography, technology, and institutions influenced the Neolithic revolution; the spread of land-based empires; the opening of sea routes from Europe to Asia and the Americas; and the industrial age. The dynamics of these past waves, Sachs contends, give us new perspective on the ongoing processes taking place in our own time--and how we should work to guide the change we need. In light of this new understanding of globalization, Sachs emphasizes the need for new methods of international governance and cooperation to achieve economic, social, and environmental objectives aligned with sustainable development. The Ages of Globalization is a vital book for all readers aiming to make sense of our rapidly changing world.

Zusammenfassung
Jeffrey D. Sachs turns to world history to shed light on how we can meet the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century. He takes readers through a series of seven distinct waves of technological and institutional change, starting with early modern humans and ending with reflections on today's globalization.

Inhalt

1. Seven Ages of Globalization
2. The Paleolithic Age (70,00010,000 BCE)
3. The Neolithic Age (10,0003000 BCE)
4. The Equestrian Age (30001000 BCE)
5. The Classical Age (1000 BCE 1500 CE)
6. The Ocean Age (15001800)
7. The Industrial Age (18002000)
8. The Digital Age (Twenty-First Century)
9. Guiding Globalization in the Twenty-First Century
   Acknowledgments
   Data Appendix
   Notes
   Further Readings
   Bibliography
   Index