Synopses & Reviews
From the bestselling authors of The Right Nation, a visionaryand#160;argument that our current crisis in government is nothing less than theand#160;fourth radical transition in the history of the nation-state
Dysfunctional government: Itand#8217;s become a clichand#233;,and#160;and most of us are resigned to the fact that nothingand#160;is ever going to change. As John Micklethwait andand#160;Adrian Wooldridge show us, that is a seriouslyand#160;limited view of things. In fact, there have beenand#160;three great revolutions in government in theand#160;history of the modern world. The West has led theseand#160;revolutions, but now we are in the midst of a fourthand#160;revolution, and it is Western government that is inand#160;danger of being left behind.
Now, things really are different. The Westand#8217;s debtand#160;load is unsustainable. The developing world hasand#160;harvested the low-hanging fruits. Industrializationand#160;has transformed all the peasant economies it hadand#160;left to transform, and the toxic side effects of rapidand#160;developing world growth are adding to the bill.and#160;From Washington to Detroit, from Brasilia to Newand#160;Delhi, there is a dual crisis of political legitimacy andand#160;political effectiveness.
The Fourth Revolution crystallizes the scope of theand#160;crisis and points forward to our future. The authorsand#160;enjoy extraordinary access to influential figures andand#160;forces the world over, and the book is a global tourand#160;of the innovators in how power is to be wielded.and#160;The age of big government is over; the age of smartand#160;government has begun. Many of the ideas theand#160;authors discuss seem outlandish now, but the centerand#160;of gravity is moving quickly.
This tour drives home a powerful argument:and#160;that countriesand#8217; success depends overwhelmingly onand#160;their ability to reinvent the state. And that muchand#160;of the Westand#151;and particularly the United Statesand#151;is failing badly in its task. China is making rapidand#160;progress with government reform at the same timeand#160;as America is falling badly behind. Washington isand#160;gridlocked, and America is in danger of squanderingand#160;its huge advantages from its powerful economyand#160;because of failing government. And flailingand#160;democracies like India look enviously at Chinaand#8217;sand#160;state-of-the-art airports and expanding universities.
The race to get government right is not just aand#160;race of efficiency. It is a race to see which politicaland#160;values will triumph in the twenty-first centuryand#151;the liberal values of democracy and liberty or theand#160;authoritarian values of command and control. Theand#160;stakes could not be higher.
Review
Joe Scarborough, and#8220;Morning Joeand#8221;: and#8220;This is an important book. This book changes everything.and#8221;
Tyler Cowan, Marginal Revolution:
and#8220;It is probably the best current manifesto on the proper roles for market and stateand#8230;.and#160; This book is also the single best statement of the thesis that these days government simply is not working very well, and that such an insight is recognized by many voters better than by many intellectuals. Definitely recommended.and#8221;
The Daily Mail (UK):
and#8220;Splendid.and#8221;
The Telegraph:
and#8220;Superband#8230;. Micklethwait and Wooldridgeand#8217;s must-read manifesto is a plea for more reform, inspired this time by successful reforms in other countries and the harnessing of the digital revolution.and#8221;
Seattle Times:
and#8220;[The authors] offer thoughtful proposalsand#8230;. a useful look at America from the outside in.and#8221;
Times of London:
"The basic argument of this well-written, intelligent book is twofold. First reform [of the state] is essential. Second, reform is possible because it is happening all over the world and because new technology is available. By the end of reading The Fourth Revolution it is hard to deny either of these points."
Kirkus Reviews:
and#8220;A different, provocative view of the challenge emerging in Asia.and#8221;
Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post American World:
"This is a book with an important message. It is also one that brims with intelligence, erudition, andand#8212;best of alland#8212;common sense. I found myself nodding in agreement on almost every page."
Walter Russell Mead:
"This brilliant and courageous book is also a gripping read. At a time when most politicians and pundits on the left and the right look back to past golden ages, the Economistand#8217;s John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge dare to ask what must be done to make democracy work again. Their answers point beyond the dull nostrums of conventional politics toward new ideas and reforms that could renew the democratic systems in both the US and Europe. This is a landmark study of a vital subject, told with great verve and dash, and it is a book that no one who cares about the future of politics can afford to miss."
About the Author
Both John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge were educated at Oxford and went on to work for The Economist. John Micklethwait has overseen the magazine's Los Angeles and New York bureaus and is now its U.S. editor. Adrian Wooldridge has served as West Coast correspondent, social-policy correspondent, and management editor, and is currently Washington, D.C., correspondent. Together, they have coauthored three books, The Witch Doctors, A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden Promise of Globalisation, and The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea.
Both John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge were educated at Oxford and went on to work for The Economist. John Micklethwait has overseen the magazine's Los Angeles and New York bureaus and is now its U.S. editor. Adrian Wooldridge has served as West Coast correspondent, social-policy correspondent, and management editor, and is currently Washington, D.C., correspondent. Together, they have coauthored three books, The Witch Doctors, A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden Promise of Globalisation, and The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea.