Homecoming

Description

A sweeping case that a new age of economic localization will reunite place and prosperity, putting an end to the last half century of globalization—by one of the preeminent economic journalists writing todayAt the dawn of the twenty-first century, Thomas Friedman, in The World Is Flat, declared globalization the new economic order. But the reign of globalization as we’ve known it is over, argues Financial Times columnist and CNN analyst Rana Foroohar, and the rise of local, regional, and homegrown business is now at hand.
 
With bare supermarket shelves and the shortage of PPE supplies, the pandemic brought the fragility of global trade and supply chains into stark relief. The tragic war in Ukraine and the political and economic chaos that followed have further underlined the vulnerabilities of globalization. The world, it turns out, isn’t flat—in fact, it’s quite bumpy.
 
This fragmentation has been coming for decades, observes Foroohar. Our neoliberal economic philosophy of prioritizing efficiency over resilience and profits over local prosperity has produced massive inequality, persistent economic insecurity, and distrust in our institutions. This philosophy, which underpinned the last half century of globalization, has run its course. Place-based economics and a wave of technological innovations now make it possible to keep operations, investment, and wealth closer to home, wherever that may be.
 
With the pendulum of history swinging back, Homecoming explores both the challenges and the possibilities of this new era, and how it can usher in a more equitable and prosperous future. “Rana Foroohar wants us looking closer to home for the resilience, fairness, and prosperity that can heal the wounds inflicted by a system no longer fit for purpose. This invaluable book is as bold in its ambitions as it is readable, and its conclusions will be debated for years to come.”—Ian Bremmer, New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Crisis“In this deeply reported book, Foroohar offers a mix of lively on-the-ground tales and stimulating macroanalysis to explain how globalization and localization are changing business, finance, and our wider society. . . . A must-read.”—Gillian Tett, New York Times bestselling author of Anthro-Vision“Foroohar has consistently been right on globalization. Homecoming explains how local manufacturing is becoming a solution for many communities around the world. The detailed reporting and interviews make for eye-opening and gripping reading.”—Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Prize laureate in economics“The way we eat impacts everything in our world, and Homecoming is a thorough examination of not just the dire consequences but also the many hopeful possibilities contained in that simple truth.”—Alice Waters, New York Times bestselling author of Coming to My Senses“By asking the fundamental questions of what matters and who matters, this book comes with some conditioned optimism about the future: Global cooperation is possible (and needed), but can yield positive social outcomes only if built on sound economic thinking that values community, sustainability, and equity. The road to this new form of capitalism is paved with books like Homecoming.”—Mariana Mazzucato, author of Mission Economy“In this fascinating book, Rana Foroohar argues that the retreat from hyperglobalization is a fact—and a welcome one at that. Homecoming will change how you think of the world to come.”—Dani Rodrik, author of The Globalization Paradox Rana Foroohar is the author of Don’t Be Evil, which won a Porchlight Business Book Award, and Makers and Takers. Currently the global business columnist and associate editor for the Financial Times and the global economic analyst for CNN, she has served as the assistant managing editor and economic columnist at Time and an economic and foreign affairs editor and foreign correspondent at Newsweek. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on the board of the Open Markets Institute. CA