I completely agree with David Orrell about "neoclassical economics as not just out of touch, but hazardous to our society, the environment, and, paradoxically, the economy." And here's an interesting video regarding "stuff"
http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html
Joseph Stiglitz (Nobel winning economist and former Cheif Economist at the World bank) said while on a trip to India, that 600 million people from India (out of the one billion!) have been left out of the “development” fold of globalization, due to neo liberal economics.
Similarly newspaper reports have pointed out how Chinese workers are working in apalling conditions, to chhurn out the low cost products, with poor pay, cramped rooms, no accident or health insurance benefits, no job security, no overtime, long working hours.
There is a small, but interesting book I would recommend, which offers a counterperspective to Friedman's book - by Aronica and Ramdoo, "The World is Flat? A Critical Analysis of Thomas Friedman's New York Times Bestseller." It is a small book compared to the 600 page tome by Friedman, and aimed at the common man and students alike.
"Globalization is the greatest reorganization of the world since the Industrial Revolution," says Aronica. Aronica and Ramdoo conclude by listing over twenty action items that point the way forward, and they provide a comprehensive, yet concise, framework for understanding the critical issues of globalization.
You may want to see www.mkpress.com/flat
and watch www.mkpress.com/flatoverview.html
for an interesting counterperspective on Friedman's
"The World is Flat".
Also a really interesting 6 min wake-up call: Shift Happens! www.mkpress.com/ShiftExtreme.html
There is also a companion book listed: Extreme Competition: Innovation and the Great 21st Century Business Reformation
www.mkpress.com/extreme
http://www.mkpress.com/Extreme11minWMV.html
