The post-American world : release 2.0

 by Fareed Zakaria. It's not that the U.S. has fallen behind, argues Newsweek editor Zakaria; it's that the rest of the world is catching up. The globalized economy of the twenty-first century is in many ways an American-style capitalist system, but countries formerly in thrall to the world's superpowers are increasingly able to keep up with, and in some cases beat, the U.S. at its own free-market game. Though, from a military and political standpoint, it remains a unipolar world, the actual ability of the U.S. to leverage its sole superpower status for economic gain is fading as it proves (somewhat ironically) less able than other nations to adapt its economic policies to the emergent facts of globalization. The rise of the rest and resultant economic vibrancy is a generally positive development for global peace and prosperity, claims Zakaria, resisting the apoplectic or apocalyptic tenor of some other commentators. And America can be optimistic too, provided that it can get over its fear, purge itself of toxic politics and nostalgic ideologies, and remind itself of its core virtues. --Booklist (Check Catalog)