Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace

Matthew C. Klein and Michael Pettis' book "The Great Trade War" examines how trade conflicts are caused by governments promoting the interests of elites at the expense of workers. They trace the origins of todays trade wars to decisions made by politicians and business leaders in China, Europe, and the United States over the past thirty years, and argue that the class wars of rising inequality are a threat to the global economy and international peace.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 296 pages
Publication date: 02 November 2021
Publisher: Yale University Press

Winner of the 2021 Lionel Gelber Prize: A provocative look at how todays trade conflicts are caused by governments promoting the interests of elites at the expense of workers

"The authors weave a complex tapestry of monetary, fiscal, and social policies through history and offer opinions about what went right and what went wrong. . . . Worth reading for their insights into the history of trade and finance." - George Melloan, Wall Street Journal

This is a very important book. - Martin Wolf, Financial Times

Trade disputes are usually understood as conflicts between countries with competing national interests, but as Matthew C. Klein and Michael Pettis show, they are often the unexpected result of domestic political choices to serve the interests of the rich at the expense of workers and ordinary retirees. Klein and Pettis trace the origins of today's trade wars to decisions made by politicians and business leaders in China, Europe, and the United States over the past thirty years. Across the world, the rich have prospered while workers can no longer afford to buy what they produce, have lost their jobs, or have been forced into higher levels of debt. In this thought-provoking challenge to mainstream views, the authors provide a cohesive narrative that shows how the class wars of rising inequality are a threat to the global economy and international peace - and what we can do about it.

Longlisted for the 2020 Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award and named a Best Business Book of 2020 by Strategy + Business

Weight: 262g
Dimension: 128 x 195 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300261448